Rina Gonoi, a former member of Japan Self-Defense Forces, who has accused colleagues of sexually assaulting her during her time in the military, speaks to the media at the Fukushima District Court in Fukushima, Japan December 12, 2023, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's military will need sweeping changes to root out harassment, ex-soldier Rina Gonoi said on Wednesday, a day after a Japanese court found three of her former colleagues guilty of sexually assaulting her.
"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 decided to join Japan's Self-Defence Forces after receiving aid from them as an evacuee when a massive earthquake struck the northeast coast of Japan in March 2011.
She quit the force, however, after officers initially ignored her complaint over an incident in 2021 when she was pinned down by three male colleagues who simulated a sex act on her.
Tuesday's verdict in the Fukushima District Court north of Tokyo marks a key victory in Gonoi's hard-fought battle for justice, which began when she went public with her accusations in 2022 - a rare move in Japan's conservative society where speaking out against sexual violence has remained largely taboo.
"I didn't want to pretend it didn't happen," she said.
A lawyer representing the defendants said immediately after the ruling that they would carefully review the verdict and had not yet decided whether to appeal against it, public broadcaster NHK reported.
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
