Photo/Illutration Shiori Ito speaks to reporters at a news conference in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on July 20 following the Supreme Court ruling dated July 7. (Ikuro Aiba)

Journalist Shiori Ito said the voices of those who have suffered sexual abuse are finally resonating, after the Supreme Court ordered a former TV reporter to pay her damages for sexually assaulting her. 

However, “filing a lawsuit is too much of a burden (both mentally and financially) for plaintiffs,” Ito, 33, said at a news conference in Tokyo on July 20.

Ito filed a civil suit in 2017 alleging that Noriyuki Yamaguchi, 56, who had worked at Tokyo Broadcasting System Television Inc. as a reporter, sexually assaulted her in 2015.

According to the high court ruling in January 2022, Ito dined with Yamaguchi at a sushi restaurant in Tokyo in 2015 to consult with him about her job search. The ruling said that he raped her at a nearby hotel while she was unconscious under the influence of alcohol.

The Tokyo District Court and Tokyo High Court both acknowledged that Yamaguchi had sexual intercourse with Ito without her consent.

In a decision dated July 7, the Supreme Court upheld a high court ruling, which ordered Yamaguchi to pay Ito about 3.32 million yen ($24,000) in damages.

The decision also finalized the high court's order for Ito to pay damages of 550,000 yen to Yamaguchi for defamation. The high court said Ito's claim in her book that Yamaguchi had given her a date-rape drug could not be substantiated as the truth.

Ito reflected on the nearly five years since her lawsuit was filed.

"I had great doubts that sexual intercourse without consent does not constitute rape under Japan’s criminal law, and I thought that should be changed,” she said. 

Ito continued to speak out, using her real name and showing her face in public. Such actions influenced the #MeToo movement, in which people are publicly making accusations of sexual abuse or sexual harassment.

“I have no regrets (for having sued), but I have been through a lot. There are people who raised their voices along with me, which will give me great support in my life,” Ito said.

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