A court in Japan convicts three former soldiers in groundbreaking sexual assault case

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court on Tuesday convicted three former soldiers in a sexual assault case that authorities had dropped until the victim, a former service member, came forward demanding a reinvestigation and prompting a military-wide harassment probe.

The Fukushima District Court sentenced them to two years in prison but suspended the sentences for four years, meaning they won’t actually serve time.

Still, the ruling is a rare victory in a country that consistently ranks near the bottom in international gender equality surveys and where sexual misconduct complaints are often disregarded. Victims tend to face criticism for speaking up.

The case filed by Rina Gonoi in August 2021 was initially dropped. Nine months later, she came forward and demanded the case be reinvestigated, saying the experience caused her to give up her military career. Gonoi said she has been attacked on social media for coming forward, but that she did so to prevent similar problems for other female service members.

Gonoi welcomed the ruling, saying it would prevent future victims. “Many victims still cannot speak up, but now we have this verdict, and I hope that more people come out and speak up,” she told reporters.

Defense Ministry Press Secretary Akira Mogi after the ruling offered a “deep apology for the long-lasting agony” that Gonoi has had to go through. Defense Minister Minoru Kihara told reporters earlier Tuesday that such harassment cannot be tolerated as service members work together to strengthen Japan’s military capability.

Gonoi’s revelation prompted a military-wide investigation into sexual harassment and other abuse allegations in September 2022, and prosecutors reopened her case.

The Fukushima court said each of her three former supervisors — Shutaro Shibuya, Akito Sekine and Yusuke Kimezawa — pressed their lower bodies against her at a party at an army training facility in August 2021, and it found them guilty of indecent assault.

The defendants had pleaded not guilty, denying any intent of indecency even though they admitted to pushing her onto a bed, NHK television reported.

Judge Takaaki Miura dismissed their argument, saying they had obviously imitated sexual acts on her at a party where attendees were mostly men and intimidating. By doing so, they denied her dignity and treated her like an object to spice up the gathering, the judge said, according to NHK, calling their act “despicable and vicious.”

“The ruling showed that such act for a laugh is not permissible, it’s clearly a crime,” Gonoi said.

In response to Gonoi’s revelations, the Ground Self Defense Force in September 2022 acknowledged some of the misconduct and apologized, and then fired five servicemen, including the three defendants, while punishing four others.

The three defendants at the time offered a written apology, which Gonoi later said lacked sincerity. The three men said during trial that they had apologized because the GSDF ordered them to do so, according to Kyodo News agency.

A panel of experts that investigated harassment cases in Japan’s military and the Defense Ministry said earlier this year it found widespread coverups and reluctance among supervisors to deal with the problem and recommended fundamental improvements.

Women comprise 8.7% of Japan’s military, the second lowest percentage among the Group of Seven advanced nations. It compares to more than 17% in the United States, more than 16% in France and Canada, 13% in Germany and 6% in Italy.

Gonoi, who was inspired to join the army after surviving the March 2011 massive earthquake and tsunami in her hometown in Miyagi prefecture as a child, was assigned to a Fukushima unit in April 2020.

But she quickly became a target of sexual misconduct, she said. Her male superiors repeatedly asked about her breast size, hugged her and made unnecessary physical contact such as trying judo techniques on her, Gonoi said.

She has separately filed a damage suit against the three defendants, two other perpetrators and the government, saying she felt their earlier apologies were insincere. She is seeking 5.5 million yen ($37,800) from the perpetrators and 2 million yen ($13,740) from the government, saying it failed to prevent the assaults, properly investigate or respond appropriately.

Separately, an air force service member filed a lawsuit in February against the government seeking about 11.7 million yen ($75,600) in damages, saying it had failed to protect her from verbal sexual harassment from a male colleague and covered up the problem for more than a decade.

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