The government¡¯s plan to tighten background checks on prospective teachers for records of sexual offenses still leaves major loopholes, as certain crimes such as stalking and stealing underwear will remain outside the system¡¯s scope.
Experts warn the framework ¡ª modeled after the U.K¡¯s Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) ¡ª may fail to fully prevent offenders from returning to classrooms.
The issue drew public attention after police in Fukuoka Prefecture arrested 66-year-old assistant teacher Masahito Kondo earlier this month for submitting a forged copy of a teaching license when applying for a job in the town of Sue.
The Education Ministry already runs a database of former teachers who lost their licenses over sexual misconduct involving children. But entries are tied to the name used at the time of the revocation, meaning people who later change their name can slip through the cracks.
The Sue Board of Education said it searched the database when hiring Kondo this spring, but ¡°nothing bad came up.¡± His previous record was registered under his old surname, Kobata, according to officials. Because he had repeatedly changed his surname, schools were unable to detect that he had previously lost his license for indecent acts.
The Children and Families Agency plans to launch the ¡°Japanese DBS¡± in December 2026, which would allow employers to verify whether job seekers who will work with children have a sexual offense record. And by linking the system to family registry data, authorities hope to catch name-changers who might otherwise go undetected.
Still, the system¡¯s coverage will be limited. It excludes offenses such as stalking and theft involving underwear or school uniforms, as well as cases that end without indictment because the crime is deemed minor or a settlement is reached with the victim.
Inquiries will also be restricted to 20 years after the completion of a prison sentence, or 10 years after a suspended sentence becomes final.
¡°The system won¡¯t comprehensively capture teachers who have committed indecent acts,¡± said Minami Suzuki, an attorney specializing in education law. ¡°I hope to see improvements made once it¡¯s in operation.¡±
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