Academic harassment, or akahara, is bullying by a senior faculty member, instructor, or research supervisor. It involves power-laden relationships where a less-privileged individual is unfairly prevented from researching, teaching, or in the case of students, graduating. Akahara cases are in no way unique to Japan and it is unfortunately very easy to find complaints from junior faculty and students from around the globe. However, Ogoshi (2001) and Takeuchi et al. (2018) claim many Japanese universities have a rigid hierarchical system that fails to properly supervise and penalize abusive senior faculty and researchers. This system creates an environment where akahara can thrive.

This bilingual and interactive presentation is about the experiences of international graduate students who have experienced akahara at their Japanese university. This group of students is at particularly high risk for akahara due to unfamiliarity with the Japanese university system, a lack of community support, or still-developing Japanese language skills (Oka, 2017). After clearly defining akahara, this presentation examines literature about akahara in Japan. It then critically explores recent initiatives by Japanese universities to address akahara. Lastly, the presentation encourages audience discussion to brainstorm ideas to support international students and decrease the problem of akahara at universities.