Rina Gonoi sexual assault: Three Ex-Japanese soldiers guilty

A Japanese court has found three ex-Japanese soldiers guilty of sexual assault of their female colleague Rina Gonoi. Japan is an extremely conservative society where speaking out against sexual violence is forbidden.

This landmark decision comes after the bold move of Rina when she decided to break out of stereotypes. She posted her story on YouTube in 2022 which sparked public outrage and received international attention.

Ms Rina Gonoi shared her bitter story of sexual assault on YouTube in 2022

Prosecutors in Fukushima later decided to reverse their initial ruling and charge the three alleged individuals in March. In light of these charges, the Fukushima District Court today has given a two-year jail sentence two-year sentence, suspended for four years to Shutaro Shibuya, Akito Sekine, and Yusuke Kimezawa.

The Fukushima District Court on Tuesday found three ex-soldiers guilty of sexually assaulting female colleague Rina Gonoi and gave them suspended jail terms. https://t.co/44VYUcOzzo
— The Japan Times (@japantimes) December 12, 2023

Rina Gonoi sexual assault: Three Ex-Japanese soldiers guilty

This is the first major sexual assault verdict in Japan since June when the country modified its sex crime legislation. It includes redefining rape and raising the consent age.

Japan sex crime: Age of consent raised from 13 to 16 years old

Click here to read the updates on Victorian MP Will Fowles arrested over sexual assault

Rina Gonoi was a former member of the Ground Self-Defense Forces. The unfortunate incident dates back to August 2021 when her three male colleagues sexually assaulted her in front of dozens of other colleagues.

The victimized lady told BBC earlier that none of her colleagues tried to stop three males who sexually exploited her. Instead, they were laughing.

Ms Rina reported the incident to her supervisors. However, they dismissed her complaint because she couldn’t find any witness testimony.

Later on, the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) police unit referred three men to prosecutors on suspicion of sexual assault. However, the case was withdrawn due to a lack of evidence. Ms Gonoi finally resigned from the army.

Rina’s YouTube video went viral last year, and she collected over 100,000 signatures on a petition requesting the defense ministry to investigate her case. The ministry later apologized to her and began a rare inquiry which resulted in today’s remarkable verdict against former Japanese military officials.