The only fire department in Goto City, a remote island in Nagasaki Prefecture, conducted a questionnaire survey on harassment among all its employees, and found that nearly 4% of them responded that they had been victims of power harassment. Experts point out that "measures against power harassment tend to be inadequate in small communities, and values need to be changed."

In May, the Goto City Fire Station, located on a remote island in Nagasaki Prefecture, conducted a questionnaire survey of all 5 employees in response to complaints of harassment, and NHK obtained the results through a Freedom of Information request.

According to the report, when asked about their experiences of power harassment in the workplace, 29 respondents answered that they had been victimized,
more than 38% of the total.

In addition, 50 respondents answered "I have seen or heard" about
power harassment, and
6 respondents said they had "done it."

In addition, when asked about the nature of power harassment, 36 respondents said that they were "disconnected from human relationships" such as being ignored even when greeting them, 30 respondents said "mental attacks" such as loudly reprimanding them for mistakes,

and
19 responded to "physical attacks" such as being beaten.

In addition, in the open-ended description,
there were voices pointing out problems throughout the organization, such as ▽ "the entire organization lacks understanding of harassment,"
▽ "privacy is not protected even if you consult with them," and
▽ "young staff are shrinking."

Regarding the results of the survey, Fire Chief Saiichi Deguchi of the Goto City Fire Department said, "We need to strongly change our awareness of harassment, and we would like to listen to the voices of victims as soon as possible and deal with the problem."

Yukio Hara of the Nagasaki Bar Association, who is familiar with power harassment issues, says, "It is unacceptable that the damage is about 4%, and we must make efforts to bring it closer to zero.

"Harassment is routine"

An active employee of the Goto City Fire Department spoke to NHK on condition of anonymity.

Commenting on the current situation in the department, the staff member said, "Harassment is commonplace, and I myself have not been able to take holidays and have been subjected to verbal abuse such as 'idiots.'

In addition, regarding the unique circumstances of remote islands, he said, "Secrets cannot be kept because the work environment is full of parents and siblings, and in a workplace where rumors and searches for criminals are rampant, I cannot consult with anyone."

He also said, "If you can't trust your superiors, your on-site activities will not go well, and you won't be able to demonstrate your abilities in life-saving occupations," referring to the impact on daily work, and urging them to "take the survey results seriously and respond firmly to harassment."