In A First, Japanese Journalist Wins #MeToo Case

A Journalist from Japan, Shiori Ito, just won a rape case and received $30,000 in damages by the court. The journalist had accused Noriyuki Yamaguchi, a high-profile TV reporter, for allegedly raping her in 2015 while she was not conscious. Shiori was told that there were no hard evidence to prove the man guilty but she fought her case relentlessly anyway. She became a symbol of the #MeToo movement in the country especially because not many people report sexual assault there. “I'm so happy,” said Shiori, 30, BBC reported. After the verdict was announced Shior was seen holding up a sign which read “victory” written in Japanese.

Making her victory an obvious showcase to broadcast that women still can win against all odds, Shiori claimed that she may have been drugged by Yamaguchi. She also revealed that when she woke up she found herself “in a hotel room and he was on top of me.”

Later, in a news conference, Yamaguchi denied the rape allegations, clarifying that he would file another appeal.

Key Takeaways:

• Shiori Ito, a journalist from Japan, just won a rape case. She accused Noriyuki Yamaguchi, a high-profile TV reporter, for allegedly raping her in 2015.
• Court has ordered him to pay 3.3 million yen ($30,000; £22,917) in damages to a journalist who accused him of rape.
• “I'm so happy,” said 30-year-old Shiori Ito, who held up a sign which read “victory” after the verdict was announced.
• In a lawsuit, Yamaguchi, who claims it was consensual sex, will now have to pay her $30,000 in damages, but there remains no criminal case against him.

Timeline

Shiori explained that Yamaguchi, 53, invited her to dinner to offer her a job opportunity and later drugged her.  She was an intern at news agency Reuters when the alleged rape occurred. Yamaguchi, who was then Washington bureau chief for the Tokyo Broadcasting System, a major media firm in Japan, offered to help her.

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In 2017, a government survey found that only four percent of rape victims reported the crime to the police. In Shiori's case, the investigations were opened but then lack of evidence forced police to shut the case

“The police refused. I was taken into the gym and told to lie on a mattress, and life-size mannequin was then produced and three male officers moved the doll on top of me, asking me intimate questions about exactly what happened and taking photographs,” she told BBC.

“It was at this time, that I had to make the shift in my head from complainant to journalist. The only way I have been able to continue has been to completely compartmentalise my feelings - I had to treat this as a story I was following: I was seeking the truth as a journalist, detached and dispassionate. That is still the way I try to frame it in my mind,” she expressed.

In a lawsuit, Yamaguchi, who claims it was consensual sex, will now have to pay her$30,000 in damages, but there remains no criminal case against him.

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Feature Image Credit:  BBC

Read More Stories By Ria Das