TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese woman has accused a security officer at Japan’s New Chitose Airport of sexual harassment during a domestic security screening.
The woman reported the incident on Threads, describing how she was sexually harassed by a Japanese security officer on Tuesday while passing through domestic security at Gate D of New Chitose Airport in Chitose City, Hokkaido Prefecture, per UDN. When the gate's metal detector alarm went off, a male officer asked her to remove her boots.
After passing through the security gate again and being told she was clear, she retrieved her luggage. However, as she opened her backpack, she claimed someone suddenly hugged her from behind and pinched her right nipple.
Initially, she thought it was a prank by her travel companion, but then she heard the security officer thank her and hand her boots back. Shocked, the woman yelled at the officer, demanding he explain his actions.
She then grabbed his employee ID badge and saw the surname Ito. The officer did not respond and continued working.
Since she was hurrying to catch her flight, she did not call the police immediately. In addition to the shock of the sudden harassment, she said what upset her was that when she confronted Daisuke Ito in English, the airport staff seemed to pretend they did not understand English and did not take any action.
She said the situation left her feeling helpless. She filed a formal complaint upon arriving in Sendai.
On Wednesday, she posted an update on the incident. After filing a sexual harassment complaint by security personnel at New Chitose Airport, she was told security at Gate D is managed by Japan Airlines (JAL), and she should direct her complaint to them.
She said she had already filed a complaint with JAL. She said she would make the matter public on social media until Ito was punished.
When asked to comment on the incident, foreign ministry spokesperson Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said that Taiwan's representative office in Sapporo has not yet received any requests for assistance from a Taiwanese citizen for such an incident, per TVBS. Hsiao pledged that if the office gets any requests, it will help report the incident to the Japanese police.
