Shiori Ito, a 32-year-old female reporter from Japan, sued a 55-year-old former TBS TV reporter Noriyuki Yamaguchi for sexual assault, and won the second instance. (European News Agency)
2022/01/25 18:41
[Central News Agency]Japan’s 32-year-old female reporter Ito Shiori sued a 55-year-old former TBS TV reporter Noriyuki Yamaguchi’s sexual assault lawsuit for damages. The Tokyo High Court today upheld the first-instance judgment and ordered Yamaguchi to compensate about 3.32 million yen (approximately new) NT$800,000).
HuffPost’s Japanese website, Japan’s “Tokyo Shimbun”, and Yomiuri Shimbun reported. In addition, regarding Yamaguchi’s claim that Ito damaged his reputation through writing and other means, the High Court ordered Ito to pay Yamaguchi 550,000 yen. .
The lawsuit stemmed from Ito having dinner with Yamaguchi for a job in April 2015, and then he was sexually assaulted at a restaurant and reported to the police. Although the police investigated the suspected rape case, the Tokyo District Prosecutor’s Office determined that Yamaguchi’s criminal evidence was insufficient and made a non-prosecution.
In May 2017, Ito chose to use his real name and face to hold a press conference, announcing that he had lodged a complaint with the Prosecution Review Committee; however, in September of the same year, the Prosecution Review Committee determined that it was “appropriate not to prosecute.”
After the criminal proceedings were blocked, Ito believed that he had suffered significant physical and psychological pain due to non-consensual sex, and turned to a civil lawsuit against Yamaguchi for 11 million yen in damages.
Yamaguchi argued that the sexual act was carried out with the consent of Ito, and there was no wrongdoing, and Ito prosecuted himself for sexual assault by holding a press conference and publishing a book, which caused his reputation to be damaged. Compensation lawsuit and a newspaper apology.
The Tokyo District Court made a first-instance judgment on December 18, 2019. Judge Akiyo Suzuki agreed with Ito’s claim, not only found “non-consensual sexual conduct”, but also dismissed Yamaguchi’s lawsuit for damages.
In the face of the first instance finding that Yamaguchi had engaged in non-consensual sexual acts against Ito, who was in a drunken state, Yamaguchi appealed against the verdict.
The Tokyo High Court today upheld the district court’s “non-consensual sexual act” verdict, found Yamaguchi’s behavior unlawful, and ordered Yamaguchi’s compensation to be slightly increased from 3.3 million yen to 3.32 million yen. High Court Judge Takao Nakayama said that “involved non-consensual sexual behavior” and found that there was indeed a sexual assault.
However, Zhongshan did not agree with the authenticity of Ito’s mention of “being drugged by Yamaguchi” in the book, so the original judgment of the first instance was revoked, and Ito was ordered to compensate Yamaguchi 550,000 yen.
The civil lawsuit caused a stir in Japan and abroad after the first-instance verdict in 2019, where it is quite rare for victims of sexual assault to come forward to the police. According to a 2017 survey by the Japanese government, only 4% of women will stand up to seek justice for themselves.
The #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and abuse has always been difficult to take root in Japan, where the social ethos is conservative. Shiori Ito’s courageous act against public opinion to come forward to seek justice for herself has made herself a representative of the #MeToo movement in Japan.
The Tokyo High Court today upheld the first-instance verdict, ordering Yamaguchi to pay compensation of about 3.32 million yen (about NT$800,000) including compensation. (European News Agency)
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