Waseda WeeklyWaseda Weekly

What comes to mind when you hear the word "harassment"? While new terms such as "kasu-hara(カスハラ)" and "mora-hara(モラハラ)" have been used more and more in recent years, some Waseda students may be wondering, "What constitutes harassment?" Therefore, we invited three SJC student staff members to represent Waseda students and discuss their thoughts on the types of harassment, ways to deal with it, and suggestions for the university. In addition, advice from the Waseda University Office of Compliance is included in response to the content. Let's re-learn about harassment so that each and every one of us can have a comfortable student life!

We spoke honestly about "what we think about harassment right now"

SJC Student Staff
​Mamoru Ikeda, 4th year School of Political Science and Economics
​Shiori Kato, 4th year student, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
​Shino Watanabe, 3rd year student School of Education

(From left) Watanabe, Kato, and Ikeda at Waseda Arena on Toyama Campus

What does "harassment" mean?

--What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "harassment"?

Ikeda: The first things that come to mind are "power harassment" and "sexual harassment." Another one is "alcohol harassment," which includes drinking by people under the age of 20. I am the secretary-general of student club, and we have submitted a drinking pledge to the university and have been warning each other about drinking with other student club members.

Watanabe: When I heard about the recently popular word "maruhara," I realized that there are many different types of harassment.

Ikeda: Sending a message that ends with a period makes the other person feel intimidated. I don't use periods in my daily LINE conversations, but when I'm assigning work in student club, I tend to write in a stiff style. I've even been told, "That's harassment." So I try to be careful by adding emojis at the end of my messages, but I feel like I need to be careful all the time to make sure that no one is offended.

Kato: What I'm concerned about is "academic harassment." I recognize it as harassment from higher-ranking Faculty to students, or to lower-ranking Faculty. In fact, I have felt that teachers' likes and dislikes may affect how they treat students. When I saw a scene where a student who gave a good presentation was not reprimanded for being late, but a student who arrived on time and gave a normal presentation was harshly criticized, I wondered, "Is this academic harassment?"

\Advice from Office of Compliance /
The definition of "harassment" at Waseda University

Waseda University established the "Guidelines for Preventing Harassment at Waseda University" in 2004 and is working to prevent harassment. Harassment here refers to verbal or physical actions that take advantage of a position of superiority, leadership, professional status, or continuing relationship to cause disadvantage or discomfort to another person, against that person's will. There are three main types of harassment at universities:

1. "Academic harassment" (aka-hara) through verbal or physical actions related to study or education
2. "Power harassment" (pawa-hara) is inappropriate behavior based on superiority in work or school status or interpersonal relationships.
3. "Sexual harassment" (seku-hara) through sexual verbal or physical actions

Other examples of harassment include stalking, forcing someone to drink alcohol, psychological harassment through words or behavior, and inappropriate behavior regarding pregnancy, childbirth, childcare or family care leave, etc. Additionally, disclosing sensitive personal information about someone's attributes against their will without a legitimate reason is also considered harassment.

​Please note that not everything that is considered unpleasant constitutes harassment. Even harsh words and actions may not be considered harassment if their purpose and form are justified and appropriate in terms of educational instruction. It is necessary to judge based on the situation and intention of the words and actions. For example, if a student is handling chemicals incorrectly and Faculty uses harsh language to warn the student, saying "What are you doing? Stop it!", this is a statement made to avoid danger and does not necessarily constitute harassment.

Waseda University will determine whether or not an incident constitutes harassment after investigating and confirming the circumstances at the time. As for the "episode that may be academic harassment" mentioned above, we cannot immediately determine whether it constitutes harassment because we do not know the details.

If you are experiencing harassment, where can you seek advice? What should you do?

--Have you ever encountered "harassment" outside of university?

Watanabe: I once had an unpleasant experience with a person at my part-time job who touched me a lot. However, the person was a fairly high-ranking person at work, so I didn't want to make it difficult for me to work. I also had a good relationship with the other coworkers, so it was hard for me to say anything.

Ikeda: There is also harassment during job hunting. For example, "owahara" is used when someone tells you to end your job hunting and decline other job offers because they will give you a job offer. I have not experienced this myself, but when I am job hunting, I have had the opportunity to hear the word "owahara".

Watanabe: A friend of mine once told me that the friend was being bothered by the fact that the friend was repeatedly invited to meals by senior members of student club. In reality, my friend felt that the senior members were treating the friend to meals out of kindness, but the friend felt that being invited so many times was a bit... My friend was stressed because it was impossible to decide to cut ties with the seniors alone.

--What do you think you should do if you actually feel like you are experiencing harassment?

Watanabe: If it happened at university, maybe you should talk to someone you can trust? But honestly, I don't know where to go for advice.

Ikeda: For example, if I were to be harassed by a senior in student club, I think one way to deal with it would be to first consult a third-party friend who is not connected to student club, and have them look at the situation objectively to determine whether or not it constitutes harassment.

Kato: It is important not to keep it to yourself, but to find other people you can rely on and who can sympathize with you. For example, if you experience "akahara," there are many other professors at the university besides your own Faculty professors. In fact, when I was having trouble in a class I was taking, a professor from another department was willing to give me advice. Looking back now, it may have been better if I had been connected to the "compliance consultation desk" from there.

Watanabe: Whenever I think something problematic being said in class, I turn on the voice recorder on my smartphone and record it. I thought that if I could submit that as evidence, the university would be more likely to take action.

Ikeda: That's right. The most frustrating thing is when you have to give up without evidence. Another thing is how to increase the number of allies, both on and off campus. Even if only one person's voice is easily overlooked, if several voices come together and grow, more people will help, and the surrounding area will be able to respond more quickly.

\Advice from Office of Compliance /
If you would like to discuss harassment, there are contact points both on and off campus.

If you suspect that you may be experiencing harassment during your student life, do not endure it alone, but consult with someone you trust or the Compliance Consultation Service (on or off campus)​. The Compliance Consultation Service is bound by confidentiality and will listen to your concerns, respect your feelings and intentions, and work with you to find a solution. Consultations are free of charge, and the contents of your consultation will not be disclosed to others without your permission, so please rest assured. Anonymous consultations are also available. When consulting, you may be asked to submit documents to confirm the situation.

In addition, if you experience harassment from Alumnus (graduates) or company personnel, please contact the Compliance Consultation Desk. We will work with the relevant departments to consider how to proceed and resolve the issue.

Things to keep in mind to eliminate harassment

--In order to eliminate harassment, what efforts would you like universities to make, and what should students themselves be aware of?

Watanabe: I think most students probably don't know where to go for help. I wish universities would do more to promote this.

Kato: I also think it's important for universities, teachers, and students to raise their awareness of harassment and update it daily. Rather than just understanding it as "these days, sexual harassment is strict" or "it was okay in the past," I think it would be good to create an atmosphere where people understand harassment from the basics, such as "why is this way of saying it wrong?" and "what kind of attitude should Faculty and students have?"​

\Advice from the Chair of the Harassment Prevention Committee/
What students should keep in mind to eliminate harassment at Waseda University

When we carefully look at the content of consultations received at the Compliance Consultation Desk, we find that in many cases harassment issues arise from misunderstandings due to a lack of communication, or a lack of respect for others, sympathy, and consideration, etc. This means that the risk of harassment exists in all of us, even in our casual interpersonal relationships.

It is important to be aware that even if you think your words and actions are "casual or harmless," they may be perceived as unpleasant by the other person. I hope that you will all strive to spread kindness and consideration for one another and build rich relationships, leading a fun and fulfilling university life.

Interview and text: Oguma Naoto (Graduated from School of Letters, Arts and Sciences II in 2002)
Photography: Nanako Ono

[Next Focus Preview] "Graduate School Special" to be released on Monday, May 13th