"Asking a female colleague to pluck your beard is totally inappropriate and illegal," media reports quoted the judge as saying as he ordered the man and the government, as his employer, to pay a total of almost US$5,000 (2,700 pounds) in compensation.

According to the lawsuit filed by the woman, the man -- an employee in his 30s in an office affiliated with the Labour Ministry -- had repeatedly asked her to pluck his beard.

The woman, also in her 30s, told him he should do it himself but finally was forced to give in, Kyodo news agency said.

Media reports said the man had been warned previously for sexually harassing the woman, including sending her notes demanding she come on a company trip in her "best bathing suit."

Japanese attitudes towards workplace sexual harassment, long considered to be relatively lax, have grown stricter over the past few years.