Japan’s military covered up sexual assault and other harassment cases, investigation finds

A panel that investigated the cases of harassment and sexual assaults within Japan's military found that there were widespread coverups, and reluctance among supervisors to deal with the incidents or seek reforms in the Army. Japanese military covered up the cases of sexual and other forms of harassment among members of the self-defence forces (SDF) and refused to take the allegations brought by the victims seriously, the report compiled by the panel that was accessed by Tokyo's Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, said. 

The discrepancies came to light after a team of investigators probed a high-profile sexual assault case which was brought by a former woman soldier identified as Rina Gonoi. The latter, who served in Japan’s Self-Defense Force (JSDF), alleged that during her time in the Japanese Army, she was inflicted with physical and verbal sexual abuse on a daily basis by the soldiers for more than a year.

Gonoi was forced to exit the military in June 2022 after two years of service. While she reported the sexual abuse to military authorities, they refused to believe her. The investigations were dropped due to the lack of evidence. But "wanting to help other people who may have been sexually harassed," Gonoi took to social media. Her confession led to a massive and rare probe into sexual harassment across the JSDF. Japan’s Ministry of Defense, and Ground Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Yoshihide Yoshida admitted to guilt and issued an apology. 

A former Japanese soldier Rina Gonoi who came forward with her sexual misconduct case. Credit: AP

1,325 cases of harassment, 60% of victims did not report them

There are as many as 1,325 cases of harassment in the Japanese military mainly targeting women. But more than 60% of victims did not report them for fear of retribution or that no one would believe them. As many as 80% of the reported cases involved abuse of power. Sexual harassment accounted for about 12%, including the instances of maternity harassment that primarily targeted women.

The panel underscored that it interviewed nearly 400 people who claimed that they turned to their supervisors or counsellors but did not receive appropriate help. There were coverups, pressure to drop cases, broken confidentiality or a lack of understanding, the interviewers were reported as saying.

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, left, rides on a Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) Type 10 tank during a review at the JGSDF Camp Asaka in Tokyo. Credit: AP

The panel, in its report, urged the military to raise awareness about harassment. Experts suggested introducing an appraisal system for those holding supervisory positions for appropriate handling of sexual harassment cases. “Harassment should never be allowed to occur as it causes loss of mutual trust among members of the defence ministry and the SDF, where unit cohesion is the foundation for all operations,” the panel’s report said. “It is intolerable for them to fail to take appropriate action.”

“In order to create an organization that does not tolerate harassment, we will firmly take steps based on the recommendation (in the report),” Satoshi Mikai, head of the ministry’s staffing and education bureau, was quoted as saying.