Photo/Illutration Rina Gonoi, left, submits signatures to a senior Defense Ministry official on Aug. 31. (Naoki Matsuyama)

The government will launch a sweeping investigation into all Self-Defense Force personnel in response to a sexual assault complaint filed by a former Ground SDF member.

The move comes a week after Rina Gonoi, 22, submitted a petition to the Defense Ministry bearing more than 100,000 signatures calling for an investigation.

The inquiry will target 250,000 or so members who belong to SDF organizations over the issue of sexual and power harassment, which government statistics suggest is a growing problem within the forces.

“Harassment is a violation of basic human rights, and it rocks the legitimacy of the SDF and is impermissible,” Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said at a Sept. 6 news conference where he announced the details of the special investigation.

Hamada also said there needs to be a fundamental review on the SDF’s harassment-prevention measures, and he has instructed the ministry to set up a panel of experts to delve into the matter.

Gonoi recently made her sexual assault allegation public and urged the ministry to launch a third-party investigation.

She said she was sexually harassed and assaulted by three male SDF members during training in August 2021.

She filed a report but the case against the three men was dropped.

Gonoi then resigned from the SDF, revealed the incident and disclosed her identity. She collected about 105,000 signatures online, submitted them to the ministry and asked it to investigate the matter.

When reached for reaction about the ministry’s decision on Sept. 6, Gonoi said it is not yet clear what it will mean for her.

“It’s too early to tell because I am demanding punishment for the people who harassed me and an apology,” Gonoi said. “I want to know the result of the investigation as soon as possible.”

Gonoi is not alone.

The number of people who contacted the consultation windows set up by the ministry and SDF about harassment has increased in recent years.

The number was 256 in fiscal 2016 but ballooned to 2,311 in fiscal 2021.

Gonoi said she conducted her own online survey in July about harassment in the SDF and received 146 responses, including from current SDF members.

“There are SDF members who cannot say that they have been harassed and are troubled by it, as well as those who have gone public but are suffering because they worry about the stares of others.”

Gonoi urged senior officials who have been contacted by victims to respond carefully to protect them.

The Inspector General’s Office of Legal Compliance, an organization that the defense minister has direct control over and is headed by a former prosecutor, will conduct the large-scale investigation of the SDF.

It has conducted five similar inspections in the past, including a bribery case involving a top Defense Ministry official.

(This article was written by Naoki Matsuyama and Midori Iki.)

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