Ex-TV reporter appeals against ruling in Japan #MeToo case

He claimed his social reputation has been damaged by her remarks.

I think you did a good enough job of it yourself! I will also make a bet that this woman is not the first either and you counted on her shame and the cultural mores of keeping one's mouth shut to get you off!

Didn't work this time, and hopefully it will encourage others to step forward too!

Drinking with female coworkers on business trips is inappropriate.

No it is not! Only someone who can not control themselves would make a comment like this! I have drank with numerous female coworkers on business trips and nothing whatsoever inappropriate happened.

@Burning Bush

Drinking with female coworkers on business trips is inappropriate.

No. Going off alone with your drunk coworker is inappropriate. Drinking with them during your off hours is perfectly fine.

he had sexual intercourse with her without her consent at a Tokyo hotel in 2015 while she was in a state of intoxication and unconscious.

this is what I think is inappropriate.

This type of 'he said she said' case is impossible to prove without material evidence. Did she complain to police immediately? If not, then physical evidence would be hard to find. I suspect that is why prosecutors dropped the case.

Sadly, some evil men will take advantage of intoxicated women. I would advise my girls to avoid getting into such compromised situations.

@Concerned Citizen

Did she complain to police immediately?

It has been on record that she went to his supervisors first. They told her not to pursue it. She went to police and they also said the same thing. She went higher up and went directly to prosecutors and they also told her not to pursue it.

The main reason is that because she was intoxicated, she couldn't prove that, by Japanese laws, she resisted him in every possible way.

Truly disgusting mideveal treatment of women. Disgusting!!

What a flippetyflop (cant curse here), this shouldve been finished for her but now he wants to go at it again, poor girl cant get any rest. Hope he is declined and has to pay 10 times the previous amount.

Invalid CSRF

IF people are going to go out drinking with co-workers or anyone for that matter, they need to act responsibly, so people shouldn't take advantage of others, but also one who drinks too much also needs to take responsibility for their actions, who is more wrong.....well that would be case to case

Sounds to me like both parties share some in the blame in this one

She asked the taxi driver to take her home, he instead ordered the taxi to a hotel where he was filmed carrying her through the lobby. He was going to be arrested but at the last moment police were ordered to stand down. Prosecutors can't guarantee a 100% iron clad case...and a rapist walks free.

I would advise my girls to avoid getting into such compromised situations.

So you plan on keeping them locked at home where they'll be safe from men when they have a drink? Oh wait, women get raped in their homes too. How about this, expect better of men. Nah? Didn't think so. Heaven forbid men hold men accountable.

There is also a strong possibility that he spiked her drink.

Concerned CitizenToday 08:11 am JST

This type of 'he said she said' case is impossible to prove without material evidence. Did she complain to police immediately? If not, then physical evidence would be hard to find. I suspect that is why prosecutors dropped the case.

It was not "he said, she said." There was ample evidence. The original case was dropped only because Yamaguchi is friends with PM Abe. He pulled a lot of strings, but she fought back publicly, which is not something he foresaw. Maybe after this case, these rich and powerful men will hesitate to assume that that they can oppress and bully the women they have abused into silence.

Sadly, some evil men will take advantage of intoxicated women. I would advise my girls to avoid getting into such compromised situations.

As a woman, I would like to advise men to have respect for women and not to rape them.

GWToday 08:53 am JST

IF people are going to go out drinking with co-workers or anyone for that matter, they need to act responsibly, so people shouldn't take advantage of others, but also one who drinks too much also needs to take responsibility for their actions, who is more wrong.....well that would be case to case

Sounds to me like both parties share some in the blame in this one

Let me just check your logic to make sure I understand what you are saying.

You are saying that women can't trust men not to rape them, and knowing that, it is therfore their own fault if they trust the wrong man and get raped.

Further, it is more wrong to drink to excess than it is to rape someone.

Is that about right?

If the #MeToo Movement will make Japan a safer place for Japanese women to live and work, then I'm all for it.

@girl_in_tokyo

That sounds about right, yes. GW is saying that women who are attacked should bear some if not most of the responsiblity because they chose to trust the man who attacked them.

I think GW is saying that women should not trust any man. Not the ones they already know, not the ones they will know, and not any man, at all. #Yesallmen, is GW's message. Seems fair enough.

@JJ Jetplane

Did she complain to police immediately?

It has been on record that she went to his supervisors first. They told her not to pursue it. She went to police and they also said the same thing. She went higher up and went directly to prosecutors and they also told her not to pursue it.

If so, that is inexcusable.

The main reason is that because she was intoxicated, she couldn't prove that, by Japanese laws, she resisted him in every possible way.

Also, inexcusable.

.....resisted him in every possible way.

The law needs to be changed. An absence of clear consent or a simple 'no' should be enough resistance.

The arrogance and shamelessness of some Japanese elite knows no bounds. With evidence at hand, he should be thankful he is not in jail. These people really do believe they are better than everyone else.

@tmarie

I would advise my girls to avoid getting into such compromised situations.

So you plan on keeping them locked at home where they'll be safe from men when they have a drink?

No.

How about this, expect better of men.

Agreed.

How about both? Expect better behavior from men and avoid unsafe situations?

It's like locking your home or car doors while you are away. We do this out of being realistic about the world we live in. We expect good behavior from society, wish we could be safe from thieves and have laws to punish offenders. But we are realistic as well and take safe precautions.

As a parent it's my duty to inform my kids about the realities of life in this world and being street wise. This is my opinion and I hope it helps my girls. But of course, my girls (you and other women as well) can make their own minds up about how to keep yourselves safe.

@Cricky

She asked the taxi driver to take her home, he instead ordered the taxi to a hotel where he was filmed carrying her through the lobby. He was going to be arrested but at the last moment police were ordered to stand down. Prosecutors can't guarantee a 100% iron clad case...and a rapist walks free.

If so, this is outrageous.

I initially refused to pass judgement because I did not know what really happened in the hotel room. But if it is true that, as some have mentioned, he was filmed at the hotel carrying the woman then he clearly raped her and deserves everything that is being thrown at him.

Concerned CitizenToday

How about both? Expect better behavior from men and avoid unsafe situations?

It's like locking your home or car doors while you are away.

No, it's really not, because people have nothing in common with houses. It is fairly easy to put a lock on a house. The dangers to the house are predictable and it's fairly simple to implement procedures to protect the belongings inside.

And if you lock a house, it doesn't cause any inconveniences or prevent the house from living its life. It doesn't hold the house back or cause the house to lose any opportunities. Being locked doesn't set the house apart from other similar unlocked houses, or make anyone think that the locked house is not as competent as unlocked houses.

And even if the house is burgled when locked, e.g., someone smashes a window or breaks the door down, no one blames the house. They don't even blame the house owner.

With a woman, however, it's very different. The dangers are absolutely unpredictable. You can't know which men are trustworthy, so there is no way to predict which men will harass or assault you and which ones will not. It could be anyone - your bf, your male friend, your boss, your co-worker, a male client, or a complete stranger.

You cannot predict from who, where, or when the harassment or assault will come, so you cannot do anything to prevent it - unless, that is, you avoid any and all situations where you may end up alone with a man.

To prevent harassment or assault, you would, in essence, have to have to keep yourself apart from the men you encounter and isolate yourself from any interactions with them where there is a possibility they may harass or assault you.

This means you can't take part in daily activities or work situations - you can't going to dinner and drinks with male bosses and co-workers, you can't have meetings alone with male bosses or co-workers, you can't go on business trips with male bosses or co-workers, you can't go to events meant for entertaining male clients, and you sure can't stay in a hotel in a strange city by yourself, because those are the exact situations that men take advantage of when they want to harass or assault you.

But of course, if you set yourself apart from men and avoid all situations where a man could possibly harass or assault you, you are going to look like you are not as competent as men are. Why would your boss send you on a business trip to a male client's faraway office if going there required you to spend time in the evening after work entertaining that client, if your boss knows you are so afraid of being harassed or assaulted that you would refuse to go?

No. Women cannot prevent harassment or assault nor can they take precautions against it that won't interfere with their ability to live their lives the way normal human beings do, i.e., the way men do.

The onus is not on women to prevent harassment and assault. The onus is on men not to harass or assault.

If you want to ensure your daughters are never harassed or assaulted, you should be focusing your attention on the men around you. Use your influence as a man to let other, possibly bad men know that harassment and assault won't be tolerated. This includes believing women, standing up for women, and speaking out when you hear other men make jokes or negative comments about women, supporting tough pentalties for sexual harassment and assault, and so on. But you know this - and I'm sure you do a lot of these things already.

Don't lock up your daughters the way you'd lock up a house. Don't make them feel they bear responsibility for preventing the actions of men and therefore are to blame if a man ever does harass or assault them.

Let me just check your logic to make sure I understand what you are saying. You are saying that women can't trust men not to rape them, and knowing that, it is therfore their own fault if they trust the wrong man and get raped. Further, it is more wrong to drink to excess than it is to rape someone. Is that about right?

That sounds about right, yes. GW is saying that women who are attacked should bear some if not most of the responsiblity because they chose to trust the man who attacked them. I think GW is saying that women should not trust any man. Not the ones they already know, not the ones they will know, and not any man, at all. #Yesallmen, is GW's message. Seems fair enough.

GIT Maria

Nice try but you both are fortunately wrong in your assessments of my post. The guy in this blurb is clearly a piece of work & most likely guilty, looks that way to me.

I am merely pointing out all people should be responsible for their actions to a certain extent, BOTH men & women care and ARE nasty to each other, sad but true

CCitiZen  is right to do their best to try to educate his kids about the possible nastiness anyone can face in this world.

@girl_in_tokyo

I think we're on the same page about getting the message across to bad men that sexual assault won't be tolerated, that tough penalties should be in place for offenders, that it's just not fair that women are subject to having to take more safety precautions than men, etc. I completely agree.

According to this article 'she was in a state of intoxication and unconscious'. Would you be OK with your daughter getting herself into such a situation and thus say nothing? I don't think you or any responsible parent would. That's why I said 'How about both? Expect better behavior from men and avoid unsafe situations?'

I'm not excusing this or any man's evil behavior. If her accusation is true, by all means punish him.

My advice was just common sense.

It's like locking your home or car doors while you are away.

No, women are not property. It's nothing like what you suggest.

GW... who is more wrong?

The rapist.

The rapist is more wrong.

He was found not guilty in the Criminal Case lodged against him, so this case should never have been allowed to go to trial.

He was found not guilty in the Criminal Case lodged against him, so this case should never have been allowed to go to trial.

Some cases deserve a second look. This crime was heinous, and one has to wonder at the agenda of those out there who give him unquestioning support.

INVALID CSRF

@Andrew CrispToday  He was found not guilty in the Criminal Case lodged against him, so this case should never have been allowed to go to trial. Agree.

Drinking with female coworkers on business trips is inappropriate.

If ya don't know how to do it right, then yes, admit that ya don't know, and don't do it

Leave it to those who know how to do it right

Concerned CitizenToday 01:55 pm JST

According to this article 'she was in a state of intoxication and unconscious'. Would you be OK with your daughter getting herself into such a situation and thus say nothing? I don't think you or any responsible parent would. That's why I said 'How about both? Expect better behavior from men and avoid unsafe situations?'

According to Ms. Ito's testimony, she thinks she was drugged because the amount she drank was insufficient to cause her to throw up and completely black out.

I don't have a daughter, but as a female with female friends and nieces, I would not say anything about "getting herself into such a situation" after the fact because not only is that not at all helpful, but that would also make them feel they had done something wrong and therefore deserved what happened.

She didn't do anything wrong. She had some drinks with a person she thought she could trust not to rape her.

What really sucks is that women know perfectly well that drinking too much can be dangerous, but on occasion we do it anyway - because like everyone else on the planet, we like to have a good time and sometimes get carried away. Most of the time when we get carried away, nothing at all happens. But that one time something does happen, people take it as an example to prove how careless women are, blame them for not knowing better or some other ridiculous, infantilizing comment.

If a man gets drunk and passes out under a bridge and gets beaten and robbed, no one is going to lecture him that he "got himself into such a situation" and give him patronizing advice after the fact because hey, he must not have known know any better and therefore needs other people to tell him how to adult. But women are patronized on a daily basis and then outright told we are to blame.

I have friends who have been raped, and somehow I managed not to berate them about what they were doing when it happened. I hope you can do the same.

@girl_in_tokyo

According to Ms. Ito's testimony, she thinks she was drugged because the amount she drank was insufficient to cause her to throw up and completely black out.

If that was the case then that changes the story significantly and I would not have reacted by giving advice to avoid such situations. My advice was given because the article states 'she was in a state of intoxication and unconscious.' indicating she had drunk too much alcohol.

I don't have a daughter, but as a female with female friends and nieces, I would not say anything about "getting herself into such a situation" after the fact.....

Neither would I, because after the fact is, as you said, not helpful and such a person should not be 'berated' as you put it. But, if my daughter was sloppy drunk (not spiked) at the time of the assault and had left herself exposed to danger I'm sure she won't be doing that again, at least I hope not. And if she was back at it again getting sloppy drunk in questionable company than I would have to at some point somehow get it across to her that she shouldn't do that.

If a man gets drunk and passes out under a bridge and gets beaten and robbed, no one is going to lecture him that he "got himself into such a situation" and give him patronizing advice after the fact because hey, he must not have known know any better and therefore needs other people to tell him how to adult. But women are patronized on a daily basis and then outright told we are to blame.

On the contrary, I think most such unfortunate men would definitely get some at least sideways looks with accompanying 'what the hell were you doing drunk under a bridge? questioning. If it was my son or friend, after they recovered and the situation settled down I would definitely probe to see if they had learned their lesson and firmly tell them to stop such behavior if it looks like they haven't.

My primary concern is the safety and well being of my daughters, wife and female friends, and you and all women as well. I can see you, being female, feel that even more strongly than me. I absolutely share your view that better behavior should be expected of men. Once we've done all we can from this angle we should add an extra layer of protection by advising our girls to avoid dangerous situations. It's just common sense and being street wise to do both. Every one has to do this in certain situations in life, men, woman and children. I, as a man don't venture into dangerous parts of town at night alone. Why? Because I might get mugged and robbed. I don't allow my kids to walk the streets or go to school alone. Etc. etc.

All the best to you girl_in_tokyo.