Washington Post Japan Bureau Chief Out One Month After Report Reveals Sexual Misconduct Allegation

Simon Denyer

The Tokyo bureau chief for the Washington Post will reportedly be leaving the paper amid renewed accusations of sexual misconduct.

The Washingtonian reports that Simon Denyer, a veteran of the paper who oversaw coverage of Japan and the Korean peninsula, is retiring from the Post.

His retirement is notable. Just last month, The Daily Beast reported that an allegation of sexual harassment against Denyer had been outed in a lawsuit filed against the paper.

Felicia Sonmez, a national political reporter for the Post, sued the paper for discriminating against her as a woman and survivor of sexual-assault. She claims the Post forbid her from covering stories about sexual misconduct and the #MeToo movement after she disclosed that she was a survivor.

Meanwhile, her suit alleged, Denyer was allowed to continue covering those topics despite being accused of sexual misconduct.

According to the Daily Beast, in 2018 when Denyer was the Post’s China bureau chief in Beijing, a female journalist who served as a China correspondent at a different Western news outlet claimed he sent her an unsolicited photo of his crotch (without pants, but with underwear.)

Somnez’s lawsuit did not name Denyer, but it pointed out:

None of the reporter’s editors said his writing on the topic would present a ‘conflict of interest’ or questioned whether he was capable of objective reporting. He was given a prominent position, wrote more than a dozen stories that touched on these issues and continues to do so today.

The Beast reported that Denyer “was investigated by the paper in 2018 after Post leadership became aware of allegations…Post management ultimately determined no professional wrongdoing on Denyer’s part and issued a warning.”

A Post memo announcing Denyer’s departure, which was obtained by The Washingtonian, said the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist “decided to leave The Post for a career change” and will be moving back home to England with his family.