Japanese Man in His 40s Arrested for Assaulting Teenage Girl at Bathhouse: "Lack of Mixed Bathing Regulations to Blame"

Mixed Bathing Culture Still Persists, Regulations Remain Inadequate
Sexual Assault Suspect Arrested Following Bathhouse Report

An incident in which a girl in her early teens was sexually assaulted at a public bathhouse in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, has brought renewed attention to the lack of clear local regulations regarding mixed bathing (men and women bathing together).

According to local Japanese media outlet FNN Prime Online on the 16th (local time), a man in his 40s, referred to as Mr. A, was arrested by police on charges of sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 13 at a men's bathhouse in Nishikan Ward, Niigata City, this past August. Mr. A is accused of touching the victim's body when she entered the facility with her father. The incident came to light after the bathhouse reported it to authorities. Police are currently investigating whether there are additional offenses committed by Mr. A.

An incident occurred at a public bathhouse in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, where a girl in her early teens was sexually assaulted. (The photo is for illustrative purposes and unrelated to the article content.)

This incident is being interpreted as a structural issue stemming from the absence of an ordinance in Niigata Prefecture that specifies the minimum age for mixed bathing. In 2020, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare issued a recommendation to local governments nationwide that "mixed bathing of boys and girls aged 7 or older should be restricted." In response, some regions, such as Tochigi Prefecture and Utsunomiya City, have clearly stipulated in their ordinances that mixed bathing is only permitted for children aged 6 or younger.

However, Niigata Prefecture has not incorporated this recommendation into local ordinances, leaving the decision to allow mixed bathing largely at the discretion of individual facilities. Authorities in Niigata City explained, "In principle, men and women should bathe separately, but it has been customary to allow children to bathe with their parents." Even within Niigata Prefecture, only a few areas, such as Yuzawa Town, have introduced provisions banning mixed bathing for those aged 7 or older.

Japan's mixed bathing culture spread through public bathhouses during the Edo period, but after modernization and under Western influence, the practice of separating men and women gradually became established. Even today, there is no national law in Japan that completely prohibits mixed bathing. Instead, each local government sets its own operational standards for public bath facilities, and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare recommends through administrative guidelines that "mixed bathing should generally be avoided for those aged around 7 or older." However, since this is only a non-binding recommendation, actual practices vary widely depending on the region and the facility.