Japanese Women Use Hashtag to Share Workplace Sexual Harassment Stories

In the wake of ex-SMAP member Nakai Masahiro’s sexual assault scandal, women are sharing their workplace horror stories.

The scandal surrounding ex-SMAP member Nakai Masahiro has renewed discussion about sexual harassment in the Japanese workplace. Now, women are taking to social media to share their outrageous — and outraging — stories of how abuse and creepy behavior have pushed them out of their jobs.

Singer and TV host Nakai Masahiro made headlines when it surfaced he had paid a massive financial settlement to a female Fuji TV employee. Since then, Fuji has come under scrutiny for charges that some of its employees routinely pressured female announcers to “entertain” famous male celebrities.

These events were set up as dinner parties that were thinly veiled excuses for the stars to pressure the women into sex. One Fuji TV announcer interviewed pseudonymously by tabloid Weekly Bunshun told a reporter her work opportunities diminished after she refused one celeb’s advances.

The incident has once again surfaced how common sexual harassment is in the workplace — and how often women are simply expected to endure it. Women report not only getting sexually harassed on the job but also targeted during the job recruitment process itself.