Media move on sexual abuse

TOKYO - Female journalists in Japan said on Tuesday they were teaming up to fight sexual harassment in the media, believed to be widespread in a country where the #MeToo movement has been slow to take off.

A total of 86 women journalists have come together to form the Women in Media Network Japan to expose harassment and abuse, said Yoshiko Hayashi, a freelancer who formerly worked at the mass-circulation Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

"Unfortunately, discrimination against women and sexual harassment still exist among the people and entities we cover," she said, reading a statement from the group on its establishment.