IS HOMESCHOOLING LEGAL IN JAPAN?
This story is just horrific. It’s amazing how wide some cultural differences are:
Experts say molestation and statutory rape are commonplace in schools across Japan, and that victims rarely come forward. To do so would violate a host of powerful social conventions, said Akiko Kamei, a retired teacher who is the country’s only nationally known expert in classroom sexual abuse.
“In Japan there is a rape myth, which says that the victim of a rape is always to blame,” Ms. Kamei said. “Moreover, women are told that if you suffer molestation or groping, you have to be ashamed. If you talk about it to anyone else, you are going to be tainted for the rest of your life.”
Beyond that, even when they are identified and caught, molesters rarely receive more than a slap on the wrist.
Speaking at a public symposium, a member of Parliament, Seiichi Ota, recently made light of reports of gang rapes at a Tokyo university. “Boys who commit group rape are in good shape,” Mr. Ota said. “I think they are rather normal. Whoops, I shouldn’t have said that.” (The legislator’s comments were carried in many Japanese newspapers.)
4 Responses to “IS HOMESCHOOLING LEGAL IN JAPAN?”
![]() Comment by unspatulated June 29th, 2003 at 11:34 am |
Sadly, I don’t think the cultural differences are nearly as large as we would like them to be. People know not to say things like Mr. Ota; I suspect that many feel the same way (and have met some myself). |
![]() Comment by Laura June 29th, 2003 at 6:11 pm |
unspatulated, I hope you are wrong about that. I really do. This is a bit beyond listing all the boys’ names first in elementary school roll books. It’s still part of the whole lose-no-opportunity-to-put-girls-down thing. Once again, I feel so blessed to be an American and to raise my daughter here. |
![]() Comment by Leo June 30th, 2003 at 3:14 am |
I have suspected something freaky about Japanese society by watching the themes of some ‘Hentai’ anime. And no, I don’t watch it anymore. |
![]() Comment by unspatulated June 30th, 2003 at 10:49 am |
I would like to be wrong on that. My experiences suggest that I’m not: not that the situation here is as bad as in Japan, but that it’s not anywhere close to as wonderful as we think it is. |