GIFU (TR) – A 47-year-old male teacher at an elementary school has been dismissed for stalking a female student for two years, the board of education said on Tuesday, reports Fuji News Network (Dec. 24).
On approximately 40 occasions between October, 2017 and this past September, Hirokazu Arai allegedly arrived near the residence of the girl with whom he was acquainted through the school. He also embraced the girl, the Gifu Prefectural Board of Education said.
Arai has been indicted on suspicion of indecent assault. He was dismissed from his post on Monday.
The matter emerged after a neighbor informed a parent about a suspicious man talking to the girl, the board said.
“Talking to elementary school students makes me happy,” Arai was quoted. “I had good intentions.”
In a separate case, another male teacher, 58, at a high school kissed and embraced two female students inside a counseling room between late October and early November.
The matter emerged after another teacher entered the room and found the teacher with at least one of the students.
The board handed the teacher a six-month suspension. However, the teacher chose to retire from his post.
Record high
According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, 282 public school teachers nationwide were dismissed over a one-year period starting in April of last year over such obscene acts with elementary and middle school students.
Among the acts were prostitution, sexual harassment and the taking of voyeur photographs (tosatsu). The figure, the highest on record, represents an increase by 72 over the previous one-year period. Of the 282 dismissed teachers, 124 were the result of obscene acts with students attending their schools.
