Japanese Junior High School Principal Faces Job Loss Over Coffee Size Scandal
A junior high school principal in Japan lost his job recently for a peculiar reason – he was caught pouring himself more coffee than he paid for at a convenience store. The 59-year-old principal, who remains unnamed, admitted to regularly choosing the larger coffee size during lunch breaks despite only paying for the smaller option. This went unnoticed by store staff for several months until a clerk finally caught him in December.
The Hyogo prefecture Board of Education revealed that the principal had poured himself extra coffee seven times throughout the year. In June, he realized that his actions were going unnoticed, as store staff failed to notice him dispensing a $1.25 coffee while paying for a $0.75 cup. The incident came to light when a store worker witnessed him selecting the large cup on December 21.
As a consequence, the principal faced disciplinary dismissal from his position. He expressed regret and apologized to students and their families, acknowledging that his role was to lead by example and encourage discipline. Despite the dismissal, local prosecutors decided not to press charges against him. This incident echoes a similar case in another Japanese city where a different junior high school principal was caught cheating a convenience store in a similar manner and faced severe consequences, including the revocation of his teaching license and forfeiture of retirement pay, estimated at around 20 million yen ($180,000).
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