The Osaka Prefectural Government annex housing the prefectural board of education is seen in the city of Osaka’s Chuo Ward. (Mainichi/Kazuhisa Soneda)
OSAKA — The Osaka Prefectural Board of Education left sexual assault allegations against a high school teacher unaddressed for five years. While the board eventually dismissed the teacher at his own request, it paid him retirement money, the Mainichi Shimbun has learned.
It was revealed Feb. 16 that the education board had dismissed the teacher for indecent acts, such as touching a female student’s chest. The board had received a complaint from the former student in August 2020 but did not investigate until a second report was made in 2025.
This was disclosed in the results of a resident audit request released Feb. 16.
According to the prefectural board and other sources, the man sexually assaulted the then student at a municipal high school where he taught. The behavior reportedly continued even after he became a teacher at a prefectural high school and after the student graduated and became an adult.
In 2025, when the prefectural board investigated, the teacher admitted to the acts and offered to resign. The board decided that disciplinary action would be difficult because the former student was an adult at the time of the teacher’s hiring, and it accepted his resignation.
Following this, a resident audit request was filed with the prefectural audit committee, claiming that “retirement benefits, which should have been withheld in the case of disciplinary dismissal, were unjustly paid.” On Feb. 12, the audit committee rejected the request, stating, “The retirement approval process cannot be deemed illegal or unjust.”
However, the audit revealed that the 2020 complaint had been overlooked for five years. The audit committee pointed out, “There is a risk of significant damage to the prefecture’s credibility. The decision-making process should be reevaluated, and necessary measures should be taken.”
The prefectural board commented, “We will take the audit committee’s opinion into account and examine the decision-making process.”
(Japanese original by Shohei Miyamoto, Osaka City News Department)
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