Photo/Illutration Rina Gonoi, who is fighting for justice in a sexual abuse case, speaks to reporters after a court session on Oct. 30 in Fukushima. (Nobuyuki Takiguchi)

FUKUSHIMA--Prosecutors demanded two-year prison sentences on Oct. 30 for three former Ground Self-Defense Force members accused of sexually assaulting their female colleague. 

The high-profile case at the Fukushima District Court exposed an abusive culture within the country’s armed forces.

Shutaro Shibuya, 30, Akito Sekine, 29, and Yusuke Kimezawa, 29, are accused of sexually abusing Rina Gonoi, 24, at a GSDF training facility in Hokkaido during a staff party in August 2021.

The three men allegedly used martial arts techniques to force Gonoi to the floor and repeatedly pressed their crotches against her.

The GSDF dismissed the trio after Gonoi quit the service and went public about the assault.

In seeking the sentences, prosecutors condemned the defendants’ “selfish” behavior during the party.

“Although they were fully clothed, they pressed their private parts against hers to mimic sexual acts,” prosecutors said. “Their behavior was utterly humiliating, shameful and malicious.”

Gonoi said in the court that she still suffers flashbacks from the assault.

“I demand harsh sentences so that no one with hopes and dreams will ever have to go through what I did,” Gonoi said.

The defendants maintained their innocence, as they had done in previous sessions.

The court will deliver its verdict on Dec. 12.

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