A Tokyo court on Tuesday convicted a section chief at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for stalking a female subordinate and illegally entering her home, sentencing him to two years in prison, suspended for five years.
Tokyo District Court handed down its ruling on Atsushi Takabayashi, 39, who had been on leave since his indictment. Following the ruling, the ministry dismissed him in a disciplinary action effective Tuesday.
Judge Shunichi Ido called Takabayashi¡¯s actions a self-serving crime driven by his unrequited feelings. Ido also said Takabayashi developed romantic feelings for the woman, repeatedly sent her messages unrelated to work and secretly photographed her and her personal belongings.
Ido added that Takabayashi continued seeking contact after his advances were rejected and kept turning up at the woman¡¯s home despite workplace warnings, threatening her sense of safety and security in her private life. He described the conduct as ¡°vicious.¡±
Prosecutors sought a two-year prison term, while the defense argued that a fine would be an appropriate punishment.
According to prosecutors, Takabayashi became fixated on the woman in April last year and repeatedly sent messages such as ¡°You¡¯re cute,¡± through the ministry¡¯s internal business chat system.
They argued that he exploited his position over a subordinate, ignored workplace warnings and escalated the harassment to satisfy his own desires.
A victim impact statement read in court said that for about a year, the woman felt compelled to respond to Takabayashi¡¯s messages because he was her supervisor and that his opening of her workplace locker left her fearful that he would brazenly intrude into her private life.
The defense said Takabayashi had admitted the charges and expressed remorse. Regarding the home entry, he told the court that he could not suppress his curiosity.
According to the indictment, Takabayashi sent the woman six messages in December. He also repeatedly turned up uninvited at her home and, in March, allegedly used an unauthorized duplicate key to enter her home and steal underwear and other belongings.
The ministry said it would consider and implement measures to prevent a recurrence while making every effort to restore public trust.
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