[Teacher Sexual Misconduct] Middle School Teacher Arrested Over Sexual Abuse of a Minor—What Leads to a Loss of Self-Control?

Committed indecent acts against a teenage girl inside a car

Yet another case of a teacher sexually abusing a child.

On June 17, the Ichikawa Police Station of the Chiba Prefectural Police arrested Takahiro Matsumoto (32), a teacher at an Ichikawa City public junior high school, on suspicion of non-consensual indecent acts.

“Suspect Matsumoto is suspected of committing indecent acts, such as touching the body of a girl under the age of 16, inside a moving car around May. The case came to light following a report from someone close to the victim. Through police investigation, including analysis of footage recorded by a dashcam, Suspect Matsumoto was identified. During questioning, Suspect Matsumoto reportedly denied the charges, stating, ‘I have absolutely no memory of it.’

The City Board of Education commented, ‘It is extremely regrettable and utterly unacceptable that a teacher—who is expected to uphold high ethical standards—has caused such an incident. We offer our deepest and most sincere apologies.’” (Social Affairs Reporter, National Newspaper)

Suspect Matsumoto, who was transferred from the Ichikawa Police Station at exactly 9:00 a.m. on the 18th, had dyed brown hair and a tanned complexion, giving him the appearance of a typical sunny personality. He glanced briefly at the camera but quickly boarded the escort vehicle.

On April 16, Chiba Prefecture announced that two male teachers had been dismissed for disciplinary reasons. One was an elementary school teacher in his 20s who touched a female high school student from outside the prefecture at an acquaintance’s home. The other was a prefectural high school teacher in his 30s who was arrested last December for touching three female high school students on buses and trains. This teacher was sentenced in May to two years in prison, suspended for four years with probation.

Regarding this high school teacher’s case, Ryo Nakahira, a crime reporter who observed the trial, had the following to say:

“Around 9:00 p.m. on December 10, ’25, this former teacher in his 30s was touching a high school girl’s body over her underwear on a public bus when a passenger reported him to the police. He was arrested by the Urayasu Police Station on suspicion of non-consensual indecent assault. He had been arrested twice previously for similar indecent acts committed in the past.

During questioning at the time of his arrest, he denied the charges, but in the trial where he was charged with indecent acts against three high school girls, he made a complete about-face and admitted to all the offenses.”

It’s not just a matter of sexual desire

According to Mr. Nakahira, in the statement of remorse that the former teacher read aloud during the trial, while he cited an interest in women’s bodies as his primary motive, he also revealed that, due to being overworked, my own self-control had slipped. In addition to teaching five different subjects on his own and serving as homeroom teacher, he was responsible for career guidance and interview practice for third-graders. Including work taken home and on weekends, it appears he had been working over 120 hours of overtime per month.

While details regarding the case of suspect Matsumoto mentioned at the beginning are unclear, might this work-related stress be one of the reasons behind the continuing incidents of sexual crimes committed by teachers?

“Experts have pointed out that sexual abuse is not merely a matter of sexual desire, but one form of misguided stress management. Among the cases I have covered, there is the example of a man in his 30s who was convicted of non-consensual indecent acts and non-consensual sexual intercourse involving five young girls.

Regarding his motive for the crimes, the man stated, ‘I was under immense stress at work due to various factors, and I lost control of myself.’ He claimed that power harassment from his supervisor, the complete lack of overtime pay, and being forced to perform work unrelated to his job description caused him to lose self-control.

Additionally, a former elementary school teacher in his 20s was convicted of kidnapping for the purpose of indecent acts and non-consensual indecent acts after luring two elementary school boys playing in a park into his car and committing indecent acts against them. He, too, cited personal and work-related troubles as motives for his crime, stating, ‘I went to the park to relieve the stress that had built up because I was stuck at work. When I saw the elementary school children there, I succumbed to my sexual urges.’

While they have indeed committed irreversible crimes—and some of their statements may sound like nothing more than excuses—it does seem true that when people experience intense stress, their rationality and judgment can become impaired. ‘And when they lose their rationality, they end up attacking younger, more vulnerable individuals or revealing their sexual preferences,’” said Mr. Nakahira.

According to an announcement by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, 134 teachers received disciplinary action in fiscal year 2024 for sexual violence against students. This represents 0.02% of the total teaching workforce. There are no statistics available to indicate whether this figure is high or low compared to other professions. However, it seems certain that the workplace environment—which is said to be extremely demanding—is a contributing factor to sexual crimes committed by teachers.

 

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