It's an international problem

EDITORIAL
Nov 22, 2007 - An editorial by a news editor for The Yomiuri Shimbun is calling for both central and local governments in Japan create a system for collecting information about sexual offenses committed by teachers across the nation, as well as collating information about how students coped in the wake of such crimes, both in the short- and long-term.

In the 2005 academic year, 124 teachers at public schools across the nation were subject to disciplinary action for sexual offenses, including child prostitution and secretly taking images of women.

A decade ago, this figure stood at just 27, meaning that lewd acts committed by teachers have risen alarmingly.

What kind of society is it when children must be offered care or counselling in the event of indecent conduct by their teacher coming to light?

He notes that when a schoolteacher commits a sexual crime against a student, the teacher's other students also become indirect victims.