Japan’s military needs to change so others don’t suffer, sexually assaulted ex-soldier Rina Gonoi says

Rina Gonoi came forward in summer 2022 to demand a reinvestigation of the case that authorities dropped nearly a year earlier, saying the sexual assault caused her to give up her military career. Now, with her court case won, and widespread problems uncovered in the organisation, she hopes Japan’s Self Defense Force will be reborn as a place where everyone can easily speak up against harassment.

“I don’t want to tear down the Self-Defence Forces, but it’s exactly because I am so grateful to them that I want to see fundamental change,” Gonoi, 24, said at a news conference in Tokyo.

Gonoi said she had mixed feelings about speaking up against her former workplace, but she was compelled to because she didn’t want to see anyone else quitting from the same pain.

“I wanted them to become a better organisation,” Gonoi said.

As a child, she witnessed the army’s disaster relief work first-hand after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami struck her hometown in Miyagi prefecture, directly north of Fukushima where the disaster triggered the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant meltdown.

That was her inspiration when, years later, Gonoi joined the SDF and was assigned to a Fukushima unit in April 2020.

Gonoi recalled service members were treated equally during training, but she often felt women were looked down upon or verbally abused outside work, including at parties.

“I hope the Jieitai [SDF] becomes a pleasant workplace for both men and women, and both during and outside training sessions. I hope there will be supervisors with a sense of justice who can deal with harassment cases appropriately.”

Gonoi said she is hopeful and believes most people are serving their duty with a sense of justice.

The case filed by Gonoi in August 2021 was initially dropped. In June 2022, she came forward and demanded the case be reinvestigated, saying the experience caused her to give up her military career.

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‘Good for Japanese society’: former female soldier wins landmark sexual assault case

‘Good for Japanese society’: former female soldier wins landmark sexual assault case

Prosecutors reopened her case in September that year, also prompting a military-wide investigation into sexual harassment and other abuse allegations. That same month, the Ground Self Defense Force partially acknowledged the misconduct and apologised, then fired five soldiers and punished four others.

In August, a panel of experts investigating Japan’s military and the Defense Ministry found widespread cover-ups and reluctance among supervisors to deal with the problem, and recommended fundamental improvements.

Then, on Tuesday, the Fukushima District Court found three former soldiers in the assault case guilty of sexual indecency. The three men argued they only tried to be funny and pleaded not guilty.

“I didn’t want to pretend it didn’t happen,” Gonoi said.

“I still wish I never had to come forward and fight, and I hope someday we have a society where we don’t have to raise our voice,” she said. But, she said, the outcome was well worth her struggle, and the process gave her strength.

Defence Minister Minoru Kihara said he is determined to allow zero tolerance for harassment as service members work together to strengthen Japan’s military capability.

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Gonoi thought about taking a break after her groundbreaking ruling, but she wants to help others. Having practised judo since childhood, she likened the sport that helped her through difficult times to her battle for justice.

“Judo taught me to stand up no matter how many times I was thrown down. It gives you the strength you need in your life,” she said. “I’m happy to tell the story of my fight against harassment if it can give some support for someone.”

Additional reporting by Reuters