Several female employees at Cool Japan Fund Inc, a public-private investment fund aimed at promoting Japanese culture and products overseas, claim they were sexually harassed by executives of the entity including a career bureaucrat on loan from the central government, sources familiar with the matter said Monday.
Since the incidents, employees of the Tokyo-based fund have formed a labor union and are calling for information disclosure and steps to prevent similar cases from the fund, claiming the entity's handling of the alleged harassment cases is unsatisfactory.
In July last year, a male executive in charge of the investment section who hailed from the private sector organized a socializing event at a "karaoke" establishment in Tokyo in which four female employees and a male connected to the fund also participated, according to the sources.
At the event, all female employees were ordered to draw straws with a phrase on each. The phrases included "movie date with executive" and "handmade present" for the person connected to the fund.
Several days later, the female employees were asked who drew which straws and about their availability, but the dating with the executive and other suggested events never took place because the women reported the incident to a section set up within the entity to hear sexual harassment complaints, according to the sources.
