This newsletter will summarize the lecture “Prevention of power harassment against
female workers: ninkatsu (TGP; Trying to Get Pregnant ) harassment, matahara(maternity harassment), and ikuhara (harassment in parenting)”. On June 10, Chizuko
Ueno, Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo, talked about measures taken by
universities to stop sexual harassment. Sayaka Osakabe, Representative Director of
the “natural rights” Co., Ltd., spoke about maternity harassment. Afterwards , theHiroko Tsukamura, the Gender Equality Division Director of Nagoya University, andthe speakers discussed these issues.

Measures against sexual harassment in universities: From the experience in theUniversity of Tokyo. Chizuko Ueno (Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo)
Women in the feminist movement ha ve publicized the problem of sexual harassment tothe extent that many people now consider it to violate human rights. Before this, society
treated domestic violence (DV) as simply a private squabble between two individuals .
Many men saw sexual harassment as no more than harmless teasing that helped relievetension and stress found in the workplace . But since the term “sexual harassment”
received a 1989 aw ard for new buzzwords, people have come to recognize its potential
cost to an organization. One indicator of such costs is the compensation that companies
must pay to victims in a growing number of lawsuits . Over time, Japanese women havebecome more assertive in reporting sexual harassment and more willing to go to trial
while refusing to quit their jobs.
Sexual and academic harassment seems to take place more regularly in universities
than in other organizations . The victims are people in weak positions, such as graduatestudents ,entry-levelresearchworkers,

non-tenure

track

facultymembers,

andnon-regular staff. The revised Equal Employment Opportunity Law in 1998 clarified theresponsibility of managers , so instead of criticizing the victims they now punish theperpetrators.
To counter on-campus harassment , the University of Tokyo established the following
rules: (1) persons in a section involved in harassment are removed from the process ofconsidering any related claims, (2) to avoid secondary harm, qualified experts handle allcases, and (3) to ensure transparency, counsellors and lawyers outside the university
are selected as committee members. Since these measures were initiated , committees
have dealt with a number of harassment cases. From these experiences , we have learnedsome striking points. First, sexual desire does not always motivate sexual harassment;
second, perpetrators sometimes commit harassment using deliberate, intelligent, andvicious means; and third, the points of view of the situation for victims and perpetrators
differs. For example, a victim may claim sexual harassment, while the perpetrator maymaintain it was a consensual relationship . The committee found many examples ofstalking

bystudents,

academicharassment,

andgender

discrimination

injob

promotions.
Under Japan’s labor model in which men are the primary wage earners , women are ata disadvantage . The root of the problem is the so-called “Japanese style of employment”,
characterized by lifetime job security, seniority-based wages, and close cooperation
between labor and management . It is a system that has made women second-classworkers and also responsible for childbirth, childcare, housekeeping, and nursing care.
The male earning model must change. Prescriptions to deal with the problems inJapanese type employment are found in “working way reform”: (1) Abolition of long-hourwork (workers leave workplace at regular time), (2) Abolition of seniority-based wage
system (changing jobs and retiring should be easier and not prejudice the worker), (3)Equal pay should be granted for equal work. In universities, the number of non-regularstaff and faculty members with limited-term contracts are growing. Such workers arevulnerable,

andso often

becomevictimsof harassment.

Thisstructure makes

universities especially susceptible to accusations of harassment. In our fight againstsocial injustice, universities cannot preserve their values if they cannot eliminate
harassment .

Maternity harassment. Ms Sayaka Osakabe (Representative Director of “naturalrights” Co., Ltd)The Japanese word “ matahara ” comes from the English “maternity harassment ”. It
refers to the unfair treatment of women when they become pregnant, give birth, or raisechildren. Actions may range from mental or physical bullying (“ gray matahara” ) totermination of employment or compelling them to “voluntarily” quit their job ( “ blackmatahara” ). Matahara , when a worker is pregnant, can have life-changing consequences
if it results in a miscarriage . While male superiors in the office sometimes harass theirfemale colleagues, the perpetrator is often another woman.

Matahara is not linked to a company’s size. Many female workers going on maternity
orchildcare

leavereport ing

feeling

anxiousbecause

they

must

pass

their

responsibilities on to colleagues . The concept of Matahara folds “dismissal owing topregnancy” and “dismissal while taking childcare leave” into a single category, grouping
all such victims together. As a result, society now recognizes matahara as a serious
issue and people recognize the need to modify current laws.

Matahara can be subdivided into the ensuing four categories. (1) Imposing traditional
gender-based values (often called “values of the Japanese Showa era” from 1926-1989),
which includes the male-dominated earning model and ignorance of shifting norms; (2)Bullying,

which might

includeresentment

employers

becauseincreasedworkloadof

toward female employees

insteadof

following

periodofapregnancy

orchild-rearing; (3) Power harassment , involving lack of understanding about a woman’s
right to be absent or go home early during periods of pregnancy or care for smallchildren; (4) “Expulsion type”, that labels women as second-class workers because they
are not supposed to remain long at an organization.
Mistreatment of a person due to their pregnancy, giving birth, or taking maternity
leave is against the law . The company, not the worker, must justify any actions todismiss a worker by providing evidence of their inability to do a job or declining
performance.
A career course compatible with both work and child-rearing is known as “mommytrack”. But this does not mean a promotion. Working mothers are not given fair job
opportunities but instead are forced to choose careers in ancillary fields or engage intemporary work. Many working women, therefore, are unwilling to quit a career track
position. Matahara means not only ignoring a woman’s wishes by excessively increasing
her workload , but also reducing it due to concerns over her health.

Matahara is not only a moral issue but also a matter of management and work style(e.g., awareness of gender-based division of labor and long working hours). To prevent
such cases, we must also stop “ counter matahara ”. These actions include preventing theoverwhelming of those workers who pick up the work of female workers on leave.
Reviewing the work environment is absolutely necessary (work style reform). Reducing

matahara may also contribute to preventing other types of harassment , such as
so-called patahara (paternity harassment: violating rights and opportunities for men to
take part in parenting and accept parental responsibilities ) and carehara (careharassment: harassing people who care for family members requiring nursing care while
trying to balance work).

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Harassment Consultation
C e n t e r r e c e i v e s c o mp l a i n t s
related to matahara.