Japan rape accuser condemns prosecution’s failure to protect victims

A Japanese prosecutor who publicly accused her boss of rape condemned her office on Tuesday for failing to protect victims, after it rejected her request…

A Japanese prosecutor who publicly accused her boss of rape condemned her office on Tuesday for failing to protect victims, after it rejected her request for an independent probe into harassment within the organisation.

Very few women in Japan speak out about sexual assault but Hikari (not her real name) came forward in 2024 to accuse Osaka’s then top prosecutor of raping her six years earlier.

Kentaro Kitagawa, head of the Osaka District Public Prosecutor’s Office, was arrested and admitted the assault but later withdrew his statement, saying the sex was consensual.

Hikari has made a request to the justice ministry and the prosecutors’ office that a third-party panel be set up to investigate cases involving others in the legal profession, and to implement measures to prevent harassment.

Hikari has previously said she was “certain that there are other instances of harassment and additional offences” besides those involving her.

But they said they would “refrain from responding” as Hikari also filed a suit against the state last month, seeking compensation.

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