Former teacher's appeal dismissed in lawsuit over dismissal and revocation of teaching license for indecent behavior towards students, second trial's lawful judgment finalized

A male teacher at a private school in Yokohama City who was dismissed for disciplinary action due to indecent behavior towards students filed a lawsuit in which he asked the prefecture to rescind the punishment, arguing that the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education revoked his teaching license without conducting a re-investigation.The Supreme Court's Second Petty Bench (presiding judge Junichi Takasu) has decided to dismiss the man's appeal. 2nd date. The second-instance judgment, which determined that the disposition was legal, has become final.

According to the first and second instance rulings, the man was fired in 2021 for kissing a female student who was a third-year high school student in 2016 and hinting that she was seeking a sexual relationship. The prefectural board of education took away his teaching license in 2023.

The Yokohama District Court of First Instance ruled in November 2024 that teachers punished for indecent acts will have their names recorded in a national database and will not be able to reacquire their licenses for three years, ``the impact of the punishment is significant and careful consideration is needed.'' The court ruled that the evidence presented did not support obscene behavior, and ordered the punishment to be revoked.

On the other hand, the Tokyo High Court's second-instance ruling in October 2025 stated, ``It would be difficult for the prefectural board of education to investigate the facts, and it is easy to imagine that it would take a long time.'' The judgment of the first instance was canceled.

The Educational Personnel Licensing Act stipulates that if a private teacher is dismissed for reasons that would qualify as a disciplinary dismissal for a public teacher, the prefectural board of education must revoke the teacher's license.