MOF request to sexual harassment victim sparks new controversy
Jiji -- Apr 18
The Ministry of Finance has caused a fresh controversy by asking the victim of an alleged sexual harassment by Vice Finance Minister Junichi Fukuda to cooperate with an investigation into the allegation.

In a statement released Monday, the ministry said the top finance bureaucrat has flatly denied the alleged sexual harassment. It also made the request to female reporters covering the ministry, given a magazine report that the alleged victim was a female journalist.

The Shukan Shincho weekly has released online what it claims is voice recording of Fukuda's sexually explicit conversation with the female journalist.

"We can do nothing without a report from the victim," Finance Minister Taro Aso told reporters Tuesday.

But Mizuho Fukushima, deputy leader of the opposition Social Democratic Party, on Monday criticized the ministry's request as the "wrong way" to respond. She argued that the ministry made the request in the belief that the victim would not come forward.

News source: Jiji