Japanese Girl's Dark Friday Night

It was a spring day, Friday night, when a famous journalist in Japan invited Shiori, a student intern, out for a few drinks. Shiori's internship at a media agency in Tokyo had ended and she now had to find a new job based on her acquaintance with the man.

They met at a bar in central Tokyo for dinner. Shiori Ito told police the last thing she remembered was feeling dizzy and going to the bathroom by herself, then passing out from being so drunk.

That night, Shiori Ito said that the man took her to a hotel and raped her while she was unconscious from alcohol. The man, Yamaguchi, a journalist and then director of the Tokyo Broadcasting Bureau, denied the accusation. After two months of investigation, the prosecutors dropped the case.

Then, Shiori Ito decided to do something most Japanese women dare not do: Speak up.

At a press conference last May and in Ito's new book published in October 2017, she said police captured hotel security camera footage showing Mr. Yamaguchi helping her down the hall to her hotel room.

Police also arranged for and interviewed the taxi driver who drove them, and he confirmed that she was completely intoxicated at the time. Investigators said they would arrest Mr. Yamaguchi, but then suddenly turned their backs.

Not by chance

Ms. Ito had met Mr. Yamaguchi a few times while she was studying journalism in New York before their chance meeting on April 3, 2015. When she returned to Tokyo and contacted him, he told Ito he could help her find a job in his office. He then invited her out for drinks and dinner at a sushi restaurant.

Ito was surprised that there were only two of them at dinner, and they drank a lot of beer and sake. Shiori Ito said that after a while she felt a little tipsy, her head was throbbing, she went to the bathroom and passed out from being so drunk. When she woke up the next morning, she found herself in bed with Mr. Yamaguchi.

Japanese law calls this “quasi-rape” - a forced act when the woman is unconscious and unable to resist.

Police then contacted the taxi driver who took Ms. Ito and Mr. Yamaguchi to the Sheraton Miyako Hotel, where Mr. Yamaguchi was staying. The driver said that Ms. Ito was initially conscious and told him to take her to the subway station. However, Mr. Yamaguchi asked him to take them to the hotel.

Explaining what happened, Mr. Yamaguchi said that he had to return to the hotel that night to take care of some work and he felt guilty for not taking Ms. Ito home. “It would have been improper to leave her alone at the subway station or in the hotel lobby,” Mr. Yamaguchi explained.

He declined to describe what happened next. The allegations that he raped Ms. Ito were settled by his lawyers.

Shame and hesitation

After leaving the hotel, Ito immediately went home to shower. But now, she regrets her actions. “I should have gone straight to the police station,” she confided.

Ito’s hesitation is typical of most cases of sexual assault in Japan. “Many Japanese women who have been assaulted blame themselves, thinking it was all their fault,” said Tamie Kaino, professor emeritus at Ochanomizu University.

Women who call the hotline often refuse advice to go to the police because they don't think the police will believe them, said Hisako Tanabe, a rape counselor at the Violence Support Center in Tokyo.

Ito also felt embarrassed and intended to keep quiet. But she finally decided to report the incident to the police five days after it happened.

She insisted: “If I don't dare to face the truth, perhaps I don't deserve to be a journalist.”

The officers at the station initially discouraged Ito from filing a complaint and were skeptical of her story, believing that Mr. Yamaguchi’s status would also prevent her from pursuing a lawsuit. But they realized the seriousness of the case after she showed them the hotel’s security video.

After two months of investigation, a detective informed Ito, now working on a project in Berlin, that they were preparing to arrest Yamaguchi based on evidence from the taxi driver's testimony, hotel security video and a test report that found Yamaguchi's DNA on her bra.

The detective said Mr. Yamaguchi would be arrested on June 8, 2015, at the airport immediately after he returned to Tokyo from Washington. She was also asked to return to Japan to assist in the questioning.

According to Ito, on that day, the investigator called her back saying they were at the airport but a superior had ordered not to execute the arrest warrant.

Ms. Ito declined to reveal the investigator’s identity because she wanted to protect him. Tokyo police did not comment on whether Mr. Yamaguchi had been arrested.

"We have conducted a necessary investigation, complied with all legal regulations and submitted all documents and evidence to the Tokyo prosecutor's office," a Tokyo police spokesman said.

“I have to be strong”

Last summer, Japan’s parliament passed the first changes to sex crime laws in 110 years, broadening the definition of rape to include oral and anal sex, and allowing men to be victims. Lawmakers also increased maximum sentences. But the law still does not address consent, and judges can still suspend sentences.

The allegations did not affect Mr. Yamaguchi’s position at Tokyo Broadcasting System. But after writing a controversial article last year, he resigned under pressure from netizens. He continues to work as a freelance reporter in Tokyo.

Ito published a book about his experience in October 2016. But it received only “modest” attention from the Japanese mainstream media.

Ito spoke about her views and why she was brave enough to speak out: “The press never talks much about sexual assault. I still feel like I need to be strong and continue to tell people why it is not okay.”