Prosecutor who accused boss of rape to resign after request for probe rejected

A female prosecutor in Japan announces resignation after her request for an investigation into her rape allegation against a former superior is denied. | Contesto: cronaca

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• Prosecutor who accused boss of rape to resign after request for probe rejected

Contesto

A female prosecutor in Japan who broke the country’s deep silence on sexual assault by accusing a former top prosecutor in Osaka of rape has announced her resignation after her formal request for a criminal investigation was rejected. The prosecutor, whose identity has not been publicly disclosed, came forward in 2024 to allege that she was raped six years earlier by the then-chief prosecutor of the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office. Her decision to resign marks a stark setback for the few women in Japan who dare to speak out against powerful figures in a legal system that remains heavily male-dominated and resistant to addressing sexual violence. The woman’s accusation, first reported by Japanese media, sent shockwaves through the country’s legal community. She had filed a criminal complaint with the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office, the very institution where the alleged perpetrator once held the highest rank. However, earlier this month, prosecutors declined to open an investigation, citing a lack of sufficient evidence. In a statement released through her lawyer, the accuser said she felt “betrayed by the system” and that the decision to reject her request left her with no choice but to leave the profession she had dedicated her career to. The case highlights the extraordinary barriers that victims of sexual assault face in Japan, where only a tiny fraction of survivors report the crime to authorities. According to government data, fewer than 4% of sexual assault cases in Japan result in criminal charges, and conviction rates for those that go to trial are notoriously low. The country’s legal framework requires victims to produce concrete evidence of force or threat, a standard that critics say ignores the psychological dynamics of rape and the power imbalances inherent in workplace hierarchies. The alleged incident took place in 2018, when the accuser was a junior prosecutor working under the supervision of the senior official. She said the rape occurred after a work-related gathering, and that she kept silent for years out of fear of retaliation and the stigma attached to speaking out. In Japan, cultural norms around shame and group harmony...

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Categoria: cronaca