Japan’s Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a high court ruling and
backed the suspensions of two male managers at an Osaka aquarium who
were punished for making sexual harassment remarks to female employees.
The two men, in their 40s, work for a company that manages Osaka
Aquarium Kaiyukan. In 2012, they were accused of sexual harassment by
female employees after they made comments such as asking if they had
boyfriends and why they weren’t married. One man said his urge for sex
increases as he gets older, that certain women visitors to the aquarium
were his type, and that his marriage had been sexless, TBS reported.
The company suspended one man for 30 days and the other for 10 days and demoted both to non-managerial positions.
The men appealed to the Osaka District Court, saying the disciplinary
action was too severe because they had not been issued a caution, nor
had the women complain to them. However, the court ruled their
suspensions were in order, calling the remarks highly inappropriate.
In a subsequent appeal, the Osaka High Court ruled that the disciplinary action was too harsh, TBS reported.
In handing down Thursday’s ruling, Presiding Judge Seishi Kanetsuki
overturned the Osaka High Court decision and deemed that the aquarium’s
actions were correct and in line with equal employment opportunity laws.
“After executives from the aquarium mandated suspensions for violating
work place regulations regarding sexual harassment, these two men
occupying management positions should surely have understood the gravity
of their actions,” the judge said.
Asahi News Service
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