Rina Gonoi, a former member of the Japan Self-Defense Forces who has accused colleagues of sexually abusing her while she was in the military, speaks to Portal in Yokohama, Japan, December 8, 2023. Portal/Chris Gallagher/File Photo Acquire License Rights
FUKUSHIMA, Japan, Dec 12 (Portal) – A Japanese court on Tuesday found three former soldiers guilty of sexually assaulting a female colleague – a victory for the victim whose fight for justice was taboo in a traditional, male-dominated society question asked.
The case of 24-year-old former Self-Defense Forces member Rina Gonoi is related to an incident in 2021 during her time in the army, when she said she was restrained by three male colleagues who simulated a sexual act on her.
The defendants denied that their actions constituted sexual assault.
The men, aged 29 to 31, appeared to show little expression as the judge announced his verdict, each giving them a suspended sentence of two years.
“I think it was good for Japanese society that the court made a guilty verdict and accepted the allegations that I made from the beginning,” Gonoi told reporters outside the district court in Fukushima, about 250 kilometers north of Tokyo .
“(The verdict) shows that it's not OK to do things for laughs, that such acts are an actual crime,” she said, pausing mid-sentence to maintain her composure.
Gonoi, who said she faced ongoing harassment after being hired in 2020, claimed the three men pushed her to the floor, pulled her legs apart and pressed her crotch against her to simulate a sexual act.
She complained to her superiors at the time of the incident, but later decided to leave the army when no action was taken.
After Gonoi made her allegations public in 2022 – a rare move in a conservative society where speaking out against sexual violence remains largely taboo – Japan's defense ministry issued a public apology.
The ministry also announced that five men linked to the incident had been fired and four others were punished, and began a large-scale survey of harassment in the military and military-affiliated installations that drew more than 1,400 complaints were determined.
Her fight garnered international recognition: Time magazine named her to its list of the world's 100 emerging leaders, while the British Broadcasting Corp named her among the world's 100 most influential women.
But she also became a target of hate online at home.
“In Japan, the barriers to speaking out publicly are incredibly high, and that has to do with how much backlash a woman gets when she speaks out on these issues,” said Chelsea Szendi Schieder, a professor of Japanese history at Aoyama -Gakuin University in Tokyo.
“It's a really important ruling that I hope will cause many organizations in Japan to re-evaluate their internal systems.”
Gonoi has also filed a civil lawsuit against her former colleagues and the government, seeking damages for the alleged attack and subsequent inaction despite her complaints.
The cases come at a difficult time for Japan, which is trying to recruit more female soldiers into its armed forces and build up its military to deter an increasingly assertive China and nuclear-armed North Korea.
Reporting by Sakura Murakami in Fukushima; Additional reporting by Tom Bateman in Tokyo; Writing by John Geddie; Edited by Edmund Klamann
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