OSAKA, Feb 17 (News On Japan) - A female prosecutor who says she was sexually assaulted by a former head of the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office has filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the state and others, alleging she suffered secondary harm due to the prosecution’s handling of the case.
The prosecutor, identified as Hikari, has filed a civil suit against former Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office chief Kentaro Kitagawa, who is facing charges including quasi-forcible sexual assault, as well as the national government and other parties, arguing that the prosecution organization failed to prevent further harm after the incident. She is seeking about 83 million yen in damages.
Hikari says she reported the assault to authorities but felt no adequate response was taken, and she filed the lawsuit in part to hold the prosecution organization accountable for failing to prevent secondary victimization. She has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and has been unable to return to work.
Kitagawa, who was appointed head of the Osaka office in 2018, is accused of taking Hikari, who had been drinking and was unable to resist after a gathering with subordinates, to official quarters and sexually assaulting her. He initially admitted to the charges and apologized during earlier proceedings last year but later claimed he believed there had been consent and pleaded not guilty, delaying the trial’s progress. More than a year has passed since then without the next hearing being scheduled.
Hikari says she initially threw herself into work after the incident and could not tell her husband about what had happened for about a year. Her husband, speaking publicly for the first time, expressed anger over the prosecution’s response and described the strain on their family as she struggled with sleep and relied on medication to continue working before being diagnosed with PTSD about five years after the incident.
After mustering the courage to report the assault to her superiors and taking leave, Hikari says she later learned that information identifying her as the victim and even personal details about her husband had spread not only within the Osaka office but also to other prosecutors offices and the Justice Ministry. She says this left her isolated and feeling unsafe. It was also revealed that a deputy prosecutor who attended the same gathering where the alleged assault occurred had disclosed her name within the organization. Although she requested the deputy be transferred away from her workplace, the request was not immediately accepted, and the deputy ultimately received only a minor disciplinary warning.
Hikari’s representatives say emails sent from senior Osaka prosecutors criticized her media comments and suggested that speaking out could make it difficult for the office to provide explanations. They also say that despite her participation in the victim-participation system, she received little information from prosecutors about the progress of Kitagawa’s criminal case, including whether additional investigations were being conducted or what issues would be contested in court.
Her legal team argues that the prosecution, which should have supported the victim, instead became a source of further distress, leaving her isolated. They suggest decisions on how to respond to her may have been directed by higher-level officials within the organization.
Hikari is calling for the establishment of an independent third-party panel to investigate and implement measures to prevent similar incidents, but prosecutors say they already have harassment-response channels and have taken necessary steps. The Justice Ministry and the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office declined to comment, citing that they had not yet received the lawsuit.
In the suit against the state, Hikari argues that authorities failed in their duty to ensure her safety by not stopping the spread of her identity and by not reassigning the deputy prosecutor from the workplace she hoped to return to. She says she continues to seek only a safe working environment.
More than seven years after the alleged assault, Hikari’s battle now extends beyond the criminal case against Kitagawa to a broader legal challenge against the prosecution organization itself. Observers say the case raises questions about how institutions respond to victims who turn to the justice system for help, and whether internal structures may discourage accountability when problems arise within the organization.
Source: KTV NEWS
