3 ex-soldiers in Japan found guilty of sexual assault in landmark case
- Shutaro Shibuya, Akito Sekine and Yusuke Kimezawa received suspended jail terms for their ‘forced indecency’ on Rina Gonoi, a woman soldier, in 2021
- The verdict is a victory for Gonoi in a case that drew international attention and challenged taboos in a traditional, male-dominated society
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The court in Fukushima sentenced Shutaro Shibuya, Akito Sekine and Yusuke Kimezawa to two years in prison, but suspended for four years, for their “forced indecency” on Rina Gonoi during a military drill in 2021.
In a socially conservative country where the #MeToo movement failed to gain much ground, Gonoi, 24, took to YouTube last year to share her account after an internal military investigation was dropped for lack of evidence.
The public attention from the viral video and a petition signed by more than 100,000 people forced the defence ministry to acknowledge the assault and apologise.
This March, prosecutors reversed an earlier decision and charged the three men, who have been dismissed from the military and could have faced two years in prison.
Gonoi, who was in court on Tuesday for the verdict, said in an interview in February that her decision to go public was “desperate rather than brave”.
‘There’s something wrong with Japan’: ex-soldier declares war on sexual abuse
She said that after fulfilling a childhood dream and enlisting in 2020, she experienced daily harassment.
“When walking down the hallway, someone slaps you on your hip, or holds you from behind,” she said.
“I was kissed on the cheek, and my breasts were grabbed.”
Then, during a drill in 2021, she says three colleagues pressed her to the ground, forced apart her legs and each repeatedly pressed their crotches against her while others watched and laughed.
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Former Japanese soldier declares war on sexual abuse in the military
Women rarely hold positions in the upper echelons of Japanese politics, business, government and military. The country’s gender pay gap is the worst among advanced economies.
Prominent cases such as Gonoi’s – and a handful of others like that of journalist Shiori Ito, who accused a prominent television reporter of rape – are rare.
“In Japan, suffering sexual violence brings stigma and shame, often leaving survivors reluctant to come forward,” Teppei Kasai from Human Rights Watch said before the verdict.
In Japan, suffering sexual violence brings stigma and shame, often leaving survivors reluctant to come forward
A 2021 government survey showed that about six per cent of assault victims, men and women, went to the police, while nearly half of women respondents said they could not because of “embarrassment”, Kasai said.
Inspired by Gonoi, however, more than 1,400 women and men have submitted their allegations of sexual harassment and bullying in the military following a special inspection by the defence ministry.
This June, Japan passed legislation redefining rape, including removing the requirement that victims prove they had sought to resist their attacker.
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Britain’s BBC in November included Gonoi on a list of 100 “inspiring and influential women” for 2023. Time magazine also included her in its “100 Next” list of people to watch.
But Gonoi, who is suing her alleged attackers and the government in a parallel civil case, received a torrent of vitriol online after coming forward.
“I was prepared for defamation, but it’s tough,” she said, saying at one point it got so bad she did not leave her home for five days.
“There’s something wrong with Japan – people attack victims instead of perpetrators.”
