July 2, 2025
NAGOYA – Following the arrest of a municipal elementary school teacher on suspicion of secretly taking indecent photos of girls and sharing them in a group chat, Nagoya will establish a panel to determine whether similar incidents have occurred in the city, Nagoya Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa said Monday.
The independent panel of experts will be established by the end of July to look into the about 12,000 teachers at all municipal schools in the city.
The male teacher and another male public school teacher in Yokohama were arrested for allegedly sharing indecent images and videos, including those of girls’ underwear, in a social media chat group that is believed to have been composed mainly of teachers.
“Citizens and the public are suspicious [of whether there are more teachers involved in such acts],” Hirosawa said at a press conference.
The city also plans to set up a channel for receiving information from parents and others regarding children witnessing teachers’ suspicious behaviors.
The case came to light after police analyzed the mobile phone of Shota Suito, 34, another Nagoya municipal elementary school teacher who is suspected of being a member of the chat group. Suito has been indicted for allegedly throwing semen on a 15-year-old girl’s backpack on a station platform in Nagoya in January. He later faced an additional indictment of smearing semen on a student’s musical instrument at the school where he worked.
Nagoya’s board of education dismissed Suito on Monday. Suito reportedly admitted to the charges and to being a member of the chat group. A source said he apologized for “having scarred the victims for life.”
‘Security cameras effective’
An expert panel of the Children and Families Agency, which has been discussing guidelines for the implementation of a law to prevent sexual violence against children, broadly approved a draft interim report on Monday.
The draft states the use of security cameras is effective in preventing sexual violence, such as voyeuristic photography.
The law is set to go into effect in December 2026.
The agency will conduct hearings with middle school and high school students, schools and private business operators based on the draft before compiling an interim report in or after September. The agency plans to draw up the guidelines by the end of the year.
The law will call for a system that allows sex crime records to be checked for current or prospective employees in jobs that involve interaction with children. In addition, the law will also require schools and childcare facilities to implement measures to prevent sexual crimes.
The use of security cameras was included in the draft as a measure to deter sexual violence and protect employees by verifying reports when suspicions arise.
Regarding the use of cameras, the draft calls for establishing operating rules through discussions with children, their parents and guardians as well as businesses to ensure the privacy of children and to not make people at schools uncomfortable.