Japan’s army issues rare apology over sexual harassment case

In a rare admission of sexual harassment in Japan’s military, its army chief apologised Thursday to a former soldier for suffering caused a group of servicemembers.
Yoshihide Yoshida, head of Japan’s Ground Self-Defence Force, said an internal investigation found evidence that several servicemen were involved in the case brought former soldier Rina Gonoi last month.
“Representing the Ground-Self Defence Force, I deeply apologise to Ms. Gonoi for the pain she had to suffer for a long time,” Yoshida told a news conference.
“We offer a sincere apology.”
The investigation was ongoing and further details, including the assailants and their punishment, were not yet released Thursday.
Japan’s Defence Miner Yasukazu Hamada earlier this month ordered a minry-wide investigation into growing reports of sexual assault after Gonoi brought allegations of harassment of her and others.
Gonoi came forward in late August to request a reinvestigation of an alleged assault on her in 2021 former male colleagues.
She also said she had received information from 146 servicemembers who said they had been harassed while on duty.
The minry said the number of various types of harassment complaints rose from 256 in 2016 to 2,311 last year.
In a country where gender inequality remains high, sexual harassment is often disregarded and the #MeToo movement has been slow to catch on. But Japanese women have started to speak up.
Earlier this month, Gonoi submitted a petition to the Defense Minry signed more than 100,000 people seeking a reinvestigation of her case a third party.
She said three senior male colleagues in August 2021 in a dorm at a training ground pressed the lower part of their bodies against her, forcing her to spread her legs, as more than 10 other male colleagues watched and laughed, but none tried to stop them.
Gonoi said in a statement that she filed a case with the minry, but the investigation was not properly conducted and local prosecutors dropped the case in May.
A month later, she quit the army and disclosed her allegations on social media.
Gonoi said she felt her case had been quashed and she had to raise her voice because there could be more victims if she didn’t.
The defense minry dispatched investigators to the regional army division overseeing the unit where Gonoi served.
It also created a panel of outside experts to review measures against harassment and study the causes of the recent increase in reported cases.
Gonoi said she came forward in hopes that the problem would be mitigated and the minry would release the findings in her case and take strict disciplinary action against the alleged assailants.
The minry found more victims in other cases, Kyodo News agency said, and the final report is expected soon.