Landmark verdict in Japan: guilty verdicts after sexual assault in the army
Rina Gonoi broke the almost ubiquitous silence about sexual assault in Japan last year. After her allegations fell through within the army, she made her case public on online networks and became one of the very few faces of the MeToo movement, which, however, hardly gained any momentum in Japan.
The 24-year-old reported that she had joined the army in 2020, fulfilling a childhood dream. However, she quickly realized that the harassment of women in the armed forces was part of everyday life. "When you walk down the corridor, you get hit on the hips or simply held from behind," the 24-year-old told the AFP news agency, among others. "I was kissed on the cheek, my breasts were grabbed."
During a maneuver in 2021, three colleagues then pulled her to the ground, pressed her legs apart and rubbed her abdomen against her one after the other, Gonoi reported. Other soldiers had watched and laughed. The 24-year-old's internet posts resonated widely and ultimately forced the military leadership to conduct an internal investigation, which confirmed the veracity of Gonoi's accounts. As a result, the trial that has now come to an end was initiated.
When handing down the verdict, the judge in charge called the behavior of the three ex-soldiers a "despicable and malicious" act. He found them guilty of "coercion to commit a lewd act". As a sentence, he imposed two years' imprisonment, suspended on probation. The probation period was set at four years. The public prosecutor's office had demanded a two-year prison sentence without probation.
The plaintiff was satisfied after the verdict. "What they did is unforgivable, even if they say it was a joke," said Gonoi, referring to the defendants. "The verdict clearly states that it was a criminal offense." This was the most important thing for her, not the amount of the sentence, emphasized the 24-year-old. "There are so many people who can't speak for themselves in public, who can't take action against such assaults. I was in a position to set a precedent."
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Source: www.stern.de
