Photo/Illutration Rina Gonoi speaks to reporters in front of the Fukushima District Court in Fukushima on Dec. 12, 2023 after the verdict was handed down in a sexual assault criminal lawsuit. (Yukiko Sakamoto) 

In her book titled “Koe wo Agete” (Raising my voice), former Ground Self-Defense Force member Rina Gonoi recalls calling a prosecutor last year to ask why her three superiors would not be indicted despite her claim they had sexually abused her.

The prosecutor’s answer was, “You need sufficient evidence to prove their guilt.”

Not one GSDF member had come forward to testify on Gonoi’s behalf, rendering her case untenable due to insufficient evidence.

The prosecutor added that if she was not satisfied with the decision, she could file for a review from the Committee for the Inquest of Prosecution.

Gonoi wanted to fight. But as she did not have the money to retain an attorney, she went online to learn how to prepare a file on her own and wrote a detailed report of the abuse she had suffered.

She then appeared on a YouTube channel, showing her face and identifying herself to accuse her three tormentors.

The Fukushima District Court on Dec. 12 found all three guilty of sexually assaulting Gonoi. The ruling was due to the Committee for the Inquest of Prosecution’s decision that the “non-prosecution (of the three) was unjustified,” which resulted in the three being duly prosecuted.

But how painful it must have been for Gonoi to have to describe, over and over, the sexual abuse she had endured as a GSDF member. 

The three apologized to Gonoi once but asserted their innocence throughout the trial.

What infuriated me most was the statement made by one of the three: “It is true that I shook my hips, but it was to elicit laughs.”

Did he seriously think that what he did to Gonoi was not obscene because the people who saw it laughed, thereby making him innocent?

The Fukushima District Court’s ruling was quite clear-cut. Let me quote it at length: “(The act) was tantamount to depersonalizing and objectifying the victim as merely a means to enliven a party. As such, it was a despicable and malicious act that utterly humiliated the victim and deeply hurt her feelings.”

In her book, Gonoi says she wants to live fully as herself, not as a victim. She has every right to move on and regain her true self.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 13

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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