A school principal in Japan was fired after stealing coffee from a convenience store

What happened next didn't just cost the 59-year-old school principal his job. He was also denied future pension payments amounting to SEK 1.3 million.

In Japan, there are rules that must be followed, but government officials can be punished in different ways. Dismissal from service is the most severe penalty, followed by suspension, pay deduction, or reprimand. The Hyogo Prefectural School Board deemed it necessary to enforce the rules in a strict manner in the case of the school principal.

What happened to the coffee machine? In the small shop, the man pressed a button for a large coffee that cost 180 yen, or 12.50 Swedish krona. So he filled his cup with more coffee than he paid for.

The employee noticed the move and confronted the manager, who admitted to cheating. The man also admitted that he had cheated in the same way twice before at the same store.

The police referred the case to a local court, which dropped the case, the Asahi Shimbun reported about the incident, the consequences of which have now been noted – the school principal was punished anyway.

In an interview with the school board In Hyogo, the director said he was deeply sorry and truly sorry for his reprehensible behavior.

On January 30, the board announced that the school principal had been fired, his teaching license revoked, and his pension rights forfeited — because he had filled cups with too much coffee on three occasions and was guilty of theft. . No doubt about it.

The principal must set an example for other teachers.

– We decided that expulsion is the appropriate punishment for repeated violations, a school board member told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

But now the voices are rising Against imposing the harshest punishments without regard to proportions and consequences.

Critics point out that the loss caused by being stripped of his teaching license and pension rights is of a completely different kind than the loss caused by the manager to the convenience store of 490 yen, equivalent to 34 kroner.