A court in Japan has ordered a man to pay compensation to a former female coworker for harassing her, including addressing her with the “chan” suffix.
According to The Mainichi, although the woman had sought ¥5,500,000 (S$47,000), the 23 Oct ruling only required the older man to pay ¥220,000 (S$1,870).
In 2021, a man in his 40s was working for a major delivery service company in Tokyo. He repeatedly used the “chan” suffix to address a younger female coworker.
The court remarked that people often use the suffix to address children, romantic partners, or someone with whom they have an intimate relationship.
Despite his use of the suffix, the man and woman were colleagues at most, the court said. Even if the man intended to get closer to the woman, the use of the suffix nonetheless made her uncomfortable. The man also held a position similar to that of a supervisor within the office.
Source: shisuka on Canva. For illustrative purposes only.
Additionally, for the many months they worked together, he had also made other comments regarding her figure.
“You have such a great figure, while I’m so skinny,” the court noted him saying. He also made comments about her underwear.
In Dec 2021, doctors diagnosed the woman with depression because of this, and she took leave from work.
The Tokyo court ruled that the man’s behaviour constitutes harassment.
Meanwhile, the woman had also filed suit against the company they both worked for. The company settled the matter with her outside court, paying her ¥700,000 (S$6,000) instead.
Also read: Woman in Japan finds boss in her bed wearing only underwear, police discover he’s broken in before
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Featured image adapted from shisuka on Canva and Aflo Images on Canva. For illustrative purposes only.