Japanese ex-soldiers found guilty in landmark sexual assault case

FUKUSHIMA, Japan, Dec 12 (Reuters) – A Japanese court on Tuesday found three soldiers guilty of sexually assaulting a female partner, in a victory for the victim in her long-running legal battle just challenged taboos in a traditional, feminine society.

The case of 24-year-old Rina Gonoi, a former member of the Self-Defense Forces, which attracted the attention of the world, is related to an event in 2021 in her time in the army when he alleged that he was assaulted by three men.

The defendants, who denied any acts of sexual assault, were each given a two-year suspended sentence, local media reported.

“I think it’s good for Japanese society that the court issued a guilty verdict and accepted the claims I made from the beginning,” Gonoi told reporters outside the court. district court in Fukushima after the decision.

“(The decision) shows that it is not a good thing to do things that make people laugh, that kind of behavior is really a crime,” he said, pausing in the middle of the sentence to stop. his calmness.

Gonoi, who said he was still subjected to violence after registering in 2020, alleged that the three men stood him down, pulled his legs and squeezed their canes. against him for practicing sex.

He complained to his superiors at the time of the incident but later decided to leave the army if no action was taken.

After Gonoi went public in 2022, Japan’s defense ministry issued a public apology to him and announced that five men connected to the incident had been fired and four others had been punished. . His allegations also sparked a wide-ranging investigation by Japan’s defense ministry into sexual harassment in the military.

His unusual decision to go public with his allegations was exploited by a conservative society where speech remains taboo. against sexual violence.

It also coincided with an effort by Japan to recruit more female soldiers and build up its military to deter its powerful neighbors China and armed North Korea.

Gonoi’s career has attracted international recognition: Time Magazine named her in its list of 100 emerging world leaders and the British Broadcasting Corp included her in the 100 most influential women in the whole world.

“I appreciate the fact that they value what I’m doing. There is a situation in Japan when people speak, they criticize,” Gonoi told Reuters in an interview before the final. .

But at home he was also the target of online vitriol.

“I have received many insulting comments. But I know that the world values ​​what I am doing,” he said.

Gonoi is also filing a separate lawsuit against his former peers and the government, seeking compensation for the alleged abuse. , as well as not taking any further action despite his complaints.

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