Rina Gonoi, who was sexually assaulted while serving in Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force, said Tuesday she has reached a civil settlement with three of her convicted former colleagues.
In the lawsuit filed at the Yokohama District Court in January 2023, Gonoi, 24, had sought damages from the state and five former GSDF members for mental distress over the sexual assault she endured while serving in a unit at Camp Koriyama in Fukushima Prefecture. Gonoi left the GSDF in 2022.
The settlement, initiated by the three former sergeants who were Gonoi's superiors, involves them apologizing and paying a sum of money, Gonoi said on her X account without disclosing the amount.
"I will live each day feeling some happiness," Gonoi said.
The Fukushima District Court last December delivered two-year prison sentences, suspended for four years, to each of the three former GSDF members who were found guilty of indecent assault against Gonoi. The ruling has been finalized.
Gonoi had previously reached a settlement with another of the five former GSDF members.
The case drew widespread attention as Gonoi made the rare move of coming forward to expose her ordeal, prompting the Defense Ministry to dishonorably discharge the three and two others and implement efforts to address harassment issues.
© KYODO
28 Comments
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sakurasuki
Bow & money, that's pretty Japanese way.
Jonathan Prin
If she accepts money, she has accepted the harassment.
I don't see the point.
Please harass me !!!
kwatt
Good news! Those idiots lost their job. It's going to be very hard for them to find next job.
Yubaru
Obviously you don't see the point. The criminal case was settled, and this was a civil case. Knowing the difference explains the situation 100%
Oh and BTW, you are totally mistaken if you think accepting the money is okaying the actions.
Making them literally PAY for it, forces them to accept their guilt, not just criminally but civilly as well!
GuruMick
No Jonathon above.
Money payments and apologies are standard results in civil law matters.
girl_in_tokyo
Jonathan PrinToday 07:17 am JST
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you've never actually experienced harassment, because if you had, you wouldn't be taking it so lightly. I know having empathy in a situation you have never experienced is difficult, but at the very least you could refrain from making flippant comments.
Seesaw7
Wonder how much she received
Yubaru
More than likely not as much as she should have! I would bet any money that it was between ￥1,000,000 to ￥2,000,000 from each, IF that much.
Odds are pretty high she would not have seen even close to anywhere near that much if she took the case to court. Japanese courts dont make people rich here.
Fighto!
Someone clearly does not know the difference between the criminal and civil justice systems in Japan.
You realise the case has long concluded in the criminal system, right?
Brave Ms Gonoi has never at any stage "accepted the harassment". What a bizarre claim.
JDoe
Good for her!!!!!! She deserves every yen & probably 10x more than she received.
Japan is a land of mysogyny and sexual predators. Nothing will change until they are regularly charged, arrested, prosecuted and punished for their abuse and crimes.
I'm happy for her and hope more women in Japan are as brave as her!
Marlon Brando
She will go down in history as a culture changer.
Marlon Brando
How would you compensate her for the time, effort, embarrassment and stress she has endured?
ThonTaddeo
Glad she was made whole. And those harassers will be having to explain their well-deserved dishonorable discharge any time they apply for a job in the civilian world, for as long as they live. Maybe they should have thought about that when they chose to sexually harass a subordinate.
GuruMick
Fighto...I've seen your prior posts where you called for ail time for negligence matters.
I corrected you.
Can I take credit for the above post where you see the distinction between civil and criminal law matters ?
lol
GuruMick
Should read "Jail ", not "ail "
ken
Why would you post the womans Photo?
Japantoday you have no diginity!
Shame on you!
GuruMick
Ken...I wonder who moderates my comments.
So yeah, agree JT is a strange beast.
Ken
I'm guessing other news sources must have posted the photo first but yeah the timing of some of the comments being locked is weirdly convenient for some users
JDoe
Article should be posting all the abusers/criminals photos with names, not the victim's.
Yohan
Her story and various pictures of her are out in many webpages on the internet, partially done by herself in several languages.
Her identity is not a secret since many months, so why not to post her story and a picture of her in Japantoday?
Fighto!
Huh? Are you new to Japanese news?
Ms. Gonoi's name, press conferences and photos have been published and in the news for the past few years. She willingly allowed it to explain to the public the ordeal she went through. Ms Gonoi pursued justice initially through social media.
JDoe
The Fukushima district court sentenced Shutaro Shibuya, Akito Sekine and Yusuke Kimezawa to two years in prison, suspended for four years, for “forced indecency” against Rina Gonoi during a military drill in 2021
Yohan
It was a civil case about compensation and both sides agreed to settle it.
It is however a good opportunity for men to think about how to avoid such a situation in future.
Some guideline what to say and what to do or not to say and not to do might be useful.
I think you have no idea about the rest of this world. Japan is compared to many countries worldwide surely a safe place for living regardless your gender.
JDoe
Japan Today, Lifestyle
4 Japanese laws that desperately need to be amended for women
July 9 04:55 am JST 26 Comments
JDoe
Japan has the widest gender gap among developed countries, ranking 73rd among 190 economies in a World Bank report released on March 4.
Japanese women enjoy only 72.5 percent of the legal rights and protections that Japanese men do, according to the annual Women, Business and the Law 2024 report published ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8.
ycgdude
Since when does an apology bargained as part of a settlement mean anything?? Unless it comes willingly from the perpetrator without any legal pressure, it's worthless!!
GuruMick
In Court you get an "outcome ", not justice.
{Actually, Dr. Phil wrote that but it kinda true }
Mr Kipling
There is so much more to this story that is not being reported.