A teacher in his forties in Saga Prefecture has been suspended for a month after it came out that he starred in an adult video a couple of years ago. He says he did it purely out of curiosity, didn’t get paid a yen, and now wants to return to the classroom.
According to reports, he connected with the operator of a paid-access site on social media and filmed a scene in July 2023. The video went up later that year. An anonymous tip reached his school this August, the clip was taken down, and the board of education confirmed it was him after reviewing the footage themselves.
Because he received no money and no travel reimbursement, officials decided it didn’t count as the kind of secondary job that public servants are barred from holding. The problem, in their view, wasn’t the porn itself—it was the potential side-employment angle, which didn’t apply here. He still got a one-month suspension.
The teacher apologized, saying he had acted without ethical judgment and damaged public trust. He’s made it clear he intends to keep teaching once the suspension ends. The board and the school principal will decide what his duties look like when he comes back.
At a press conference in late October, senior education officials turned up in dark formal clothes and offered a deep apology. Whether his coworkers or the parents of his students ever hear the full story is another matter. For now, it looks like the biggest crisis of his career is being handled with a relatively light penalty and a chance to return.