A Tokyo court yesterday awarded ￥3.3 million (US$30,122) in damages to journalist Shiori Ito, who accused a former TV reporter of rape in one of the most high-profile cases of the #MeToo movement in Japan.
The civil case made headlines in Japan and abroad, as it is rare for rape victims to report the crime to the police; according to a 2017 government survey, only 4 percent of women come forward.
Ito, 30, has become an outspoken symbol for #MeToo in Japan, where the movement against sexual harassment and abuse has struggled to take hold.
Photo: Reuters
She had sought ￥11 million in compensation from Noriyuki Yamaguchi, a former TV reporter with close links to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, alleging that he raped her after inviting her to dinner to discuss a job opportunity in 2015.
Yamaguchi continues to deny any wrongdoing and had filed a countersuit against Ito, seeking ￥130 million in compensation.
“We won. The countersuit was turned down,” Ito said outside the court, holding up a banner that read “victory” as supporters cheered and clapped.
“Honestly, I still don’t know how I feel,” she told reporters, struggling to hold back the tears.
“However, winning this case doesn’t mean this [sexual assault] didn’t happen... This is not the end,” she added.
She said she hoped that the case would change what she called the “underdeveloped” legal and social environment surrounding rape in Japan.
Japan in 2017 hiked minimum jail terms for rapists from three to five years and widened the definition of sexual assault victims to include men for the first time.
Lawmakers decided unanimously to update the 1907 statute to impose tougher penalties on sex offenders and make prosecutions easier, as they look to boost Japan’s low number of convictions.
The latest World Economic Forum report on the gender gap published on the eve of the case ranked Japan 121st out of 153 countries, slipping down the list from 110th the previous year.
Yamaguchi announced that he would appeal the ruling “immediately,” saying: “I have not done anything that goes against the law.”
The significant international media attention around the case might have clouded the judgement of the court, he said, vowing to be more vocal in future.
Ito said she suspects Yamaguchi drugged her, but police failed to test for substances.
“When I regained consciousness, in intense pain, I was in a hotel room and he was on top of me. I knew what had happened, but I couldn’t process it,” she said.
The court said in its written ruling that she was “forced to have sex without contraception, while in a state of unconsciousness and severe inebriation.”
“We acknowledge that the plaintiff continues to suffer from flashbacks and panic attacks until now,” the court said.
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