Schools across Japan are introducing stricter rules on teachers’ use of smartphones following a series of shocking cases involving educators accused of secretly filming female students.
Several local governments have begun banning or restricting teachers from bringing personal smartphones into classrooms, gymnasiums, swimming pools and other areas where students are present, in an effort to strengthen child protection measures.
The tighter regulations come after a major scandal exposed last year involving seven current and former teachers from Nagoya, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Hokkaido and Okayama, who were accused of secretly recording female students while they were changing clothes.
According to Japanese media, the suspects allegedly shared the videos in private social media chat groups and even used generative artificial intelligence (AI) to create sexually explicit deepfake images of underage girls.
In response, Nagoya City became one of the first municipalities to prohibit teachers from bringing smartphones into classrooms and banned the use of personal mobile phones to photograph students. Similar measures have since been adopted in Sapporo and other parts of Hokkaido.
Meanwhile, Yokohama City has gone even further by prohibiting teachers from bringing personal smartphones onto school grounds altogether.
While the new restrictions have been welcomed as a move to better safeguard students, some emergency response organisations have voiced concerns that banning personal phones could delay teachers’ ability to respond quickly during medical emergencies involving students.
Authorities said the measures are aimed at restoring public confidence and preventing similar incidents from occurring in schools across the country.
