On Monday a member of the Japanese Air Force filed a lawsuit against the government, alleging that he failed to shield himself from verbal sexual harassment by a male colleague and then watched the issue be systematically swept under the rug for more than ten years. The report comes from Fox News.
The plaintiff states she endured violence at Naha Air Base on Okinawa, a southern island, starting in 2010 when she began her service. The harassment included frequent comments about her body and persistent questions about her sex life.
Now she seeks about 85,800 dollars in compensation from the government, arguing that the state did not protect her from aggression and did not ensure a workplace free from intimidation. The soldier also asserts that her complaint about a colleague went unanswered for more than a decade, prolonging her distress.
Lawyers note that the violently acting colleague behaved in the same manner toward other female soldiers, yet many did not complain for fear of retaliation or damage to their careers.
The lawsuit follows weeks after former army veteran Rina Gonoy filed a civil suit against the government and five alleged perpetrators for sexual assault she endured.
Last year, a veteran spoke publicly about her experience and urged the Department of Defense to reopen the investigation into her case, asserting that multiple service members repeatedly assaulted her, ultimately forcing her to leave the military.
The Army had closed its case after filing a first complaint in 2021, citing insufficient evidence as the reason for ending the inquiry.
In December, Japan’s defense ministry disclosed receiving 1,414 complaints about inappropriate treatment of women in the military tied to the Gonoy case. The military reported that roughly 84 percent of those instances related to abuse of power, while 116 involved sexual harassment, representing 7.7 percent of cases.
Previously reported information indicated that Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada ordered a comprehensive review into the roots of sexual harassment within the ranks. The surge in reported cases since 2016 shows the level rising nearly tenfold from 256 cases in 2016 to 2,311 in 2021.
The review followed a request from former soldier Rina Gonoy, who sought an independent investigation into an assault by former male colleagues at a dormitory at a training base in August 2021.
Gonoy claimed that the military investigation was mishandled and that prosecutors ultimately closed the case. The petition had gathered about 100,000 signatures.
Gonoy also reported that in a letter to the minister she had received statements from 146 female soldiers who said they had faced sexual harassment while on duty, highlighting a broader pattern of mistreatment within the forces.