Japan high school operator accused of power harassment against staffers

KUMAMOTO — Four staffers at a private high school in this southwest Japan city announced on Oct. 11 that members of the corporation running the school were harassed by senior officials.

According to the announcement, a senior official of school corporation Chinzei Gakuen, which operates Chinzei High School in Kumamoto’s Chuo Ward, belittled a 57-year-old former head coach of the baseball club at the school in front of his colleagues, rejecting his guidance policy in May 2022 with the comment, “There is no way we can provide money to a baseball team that can’t win.”

The former head coach filed a damages lawsuit against the senior official with the Kumamoto District Court, but lost. He has appealed the verdict to a higher court.

The former head coach developed an adjustment disorder and other problems, and has been on leave since February 2023. He filed for workers’ compensation with the Kumamoto labor standards inspection office that August, and his case was recognized as work-related in September 2024. But even after he recovered from his ailments and sought to return to work, he was apparently ordered to extend his leave and stay at home.

Additionally, a 62-year-old clerical staff member at the school corporation who prepared documents regarding the former head coach’s application for workers’ compensation and recognition of human rights violations, claims that he was subjected to oppressive questioning by senior officials at the school corporation, and that he was ordered to transfer to a different department.

On Oct. 11, the former head coach and the clerical staffer attended a press conference alongside others including a 51-year-old teacher in charge of improving the work environment within the school. The female teacher told reporters, “The school corporation currently has no self-cleansing function.”

The school corporation, meanwhile, stated, “We will refrain from commenting as some issues are pending in court.”

(Japanese original by Kenji Noro, Kumamoto Bureau)