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© 2024 AFPSoccer player Ito sues accusers for ¥200 mil over sexual assault claim
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Asiaman7
According to the Asahi Shimbun, the online news site Daily Shincho reported that Ito is suspected of getting the two women drunk at a hotel in Osaka in June and engaging in sexual acts with them without their consent.
Ito has been criminally accused by the women of the allegations, while his side in turn filed a criminal complaint against them for suspicion of false accusation on Feb. 1.
Fighto!
Good for Ito.
If these claims are bogus - and were collaborated between the two women to try and gain money from Ito - hopefully this lawsuit will force them to drop their accusations, and therefore the police investigation will be dropped.
This is a terribly damaging thing to be hanging over Ito's excellent reputation.
Asiaman7
I guess the fundamental question should be: “Were the two women too drunk to consent to these sexual acts?”
Meiyouwenti
Truth will come out in the end. Grown men in short pants running up and down the field kicking a ball is a sorry sight
maxjapank
But what if the accusations against Ito are true? What if he and the other guy did take advantage of the two women while they were drunk? I feel bad for anyone falsely accused. But twice as bad for anyone that was raped.
owzer
"too drunk to consent" is a tricky one.
You're forgetting the part where you ask if Ito was also drunk.
Yubaru
Good! Get to the truth as quickly as possible and ensure that the "guilty" party or parties, from either side, are held responsible for their actions!
Which ever side is found to be guilty, should be charged accordingly, and punished accordingly as well!
Mark
Good point.
Being falsely accused of rape is an extremely rare event (compared to the actual number of rapes) and can lead to a loss of career and reputation, but that pales in comparison to the lifelong emotional, physical and psychological torture that rape has on women.
James
wait a minute... something wrong with this statement.
Are you saying if your too drunk the things you do shouldn't be counted?
like say I was too drunk and don't remember?
This would be cause enough to question many criminal offenses committed by too drunk people.
JeffLee
How did he (allegedly) do that? Did he spike their drinks without their knowledge? I wonder what the bartender or other staff at the hotel that served them remember seeing.
Quo Primum
Getting them drunk?
Did he physically force the alcohol down their throats or something?
It's ridiculous when anyone ever says, "Somebody got me drunk."
Nobody gets you drunk except you. You are responsible for how much alcohol you choose to consume.
I thought women were strong and independent -- isn't that what we're constantly told these days?
Well, ladies, if you're so strong and independent ... don't blame someone else for YOUR choice to drink too much!!!
Quo Primum
If you get drunk and then punch a cop in the face, you're guilty of assaulting a police officer. Despite being drunk, you're still responsible for your actions.
Same goes for getting drunk and then stealing something, throwing a brick through a window, stripping naked in public, or any of a number of other things you normally wouldn't do sober.
Well, how is this principle any different when it comes to a woman getting drunk & then having sex with a guy she would normally not have sex with?
Unless Ito physically forced himself on these women, it's not rape or assault.
It would certainly be wrong on a moral level for him to have had sex with two drunk women. .
But on a legal level, well .... these women are just as responsible for their actions while drunk as the aforementioned person who drunkenly punches a cop.
Asiaman7
Sorry. I should have written, “Were the two women too impaired to be able to grant consent?”
We should also remember that consent is fluid. Consent can be immediately withdrawn at any time depending on the behavior of the other party.
Rape could be defined as sexual intercourse with a person who is too impaired to consent to that sexual intercourse. I don’t know if that definition would apply inside Japan’s courts, where wacky decisions often get handed down, but the definition would likely apply in many developed countries these days.
ian
Nowadays if you want something explicit you have to ask explicitly
ian
Nowadays if you want something explicit you have to ask explicitly
Legrande
If you don't want the possibility of something bad happening don't go to a hotel room with someone you don't really know and start drinking alcohol.
Chabbawanga
A fantastic standard to be setting. Dont speak up women, or you will be made destitute.
Quo Primum
If a man gets drunk and punches someone in the face ... he is still guilty of assault. He's still responsible for his behavior.
For him to have actually said "I consent to this action of punching this person in the face" need not be demonstrated. Just the fact that he committed the act means that he consented to committing it.
Why does this principle not apply to women getting drunk and having sex with someone?
It's funny how we're always told women are strong and independent, and should have equality with men. Which in and of itself, is fine.
But when it comes to the amount of alcohol they choose to consume and their behavior following this alcohol consumption ... all of a sudden they're delicate little children who aren't responsible for their actions???
(And no, Ito did not "get them drunk." The idea that Person A can get Person B drunk has always been absurd to me. Unless Person B is having the alcohol physically forced down his or her throat, which obviously Ito is not accused of doing here.)
What Ito allegedly did certainly was wrong on a moral level. But legally, unless Ito physically forced himself on these two women, and/or unless he spiked their drinks with date-rape drugs, this is not a crime.
Quo Primum
One more thing:
This whole situation is all the more reason for men and women to wait till marriage before having sex.
There is just way too much possibility of sex getting a person in trouble. Too much possibility of it ending up being carried out with the wrong person.
Keeping it within marriage totally eliminates the many negative consequences of irresponsible, "casual" sex.
Seigi
The fall of a great man is always a woman...
ian
No it doesn't.
Mark
Ouch, victim blaming raises its ugly but persistent head.
Or better yet, do not sexually assault women; then they will have nothing to worry about aye. ;)
Mark
Rape is rape whether the victim is drunk or not.
buchailldana
"One more thing: This whole situation is all the more reason for men and women to wait till marriage"
Wow
owzer
Correction: Consent can be immediately withdrawn at any time UP TO the point that the deed is done. Beyond that, it cannot be withdrawn.
Also, the behavior of the other party is not relevant. You can withdraw consent for any reason.
Paul
One day we might know the truth.
toolonggone
You realize you can be raped within a marriage, don’t you?
Also, why not take your idea to its logical extreme and just keep the sexes completely separated?
Davers
It can also be withdrawn during. If the other person is telling you to stop at any time, and you don't, that's rape.
kohakuebisu
What is indisputable is that the authorities are hopeless at handling rape cases, both prosecuting them and handling the victims. There should be far more outrage about this.
However the correct outlet for such outrage should not be any single rape accusation. Even if Itoh is punished severely, it will not affect what happens in 99 point whatever other cases, most of which are far worse, involving intimidation or actual physical force.
Mark
Japan is a very patriarchal society and women's rights are clearly not regarded as highly as men's rights.
Mark
If he is found to be innocent , I hope he takes them and their supporters to the cleaners.
Mark
I really hope he doesn't because the barriers to women who are raped in Japan are already usually insurmountable for the vast majority. Less than 95% of women who are raped have the courage to report it.
Speed
I strongly disagree with the Japanese national team taking him off the squad before and if he is actually found guilty of his accused crime.
I'm all for kicking players off their teams and being banned from the leagues but that should only come after a guilty verdict - not before.
Ito, Bauer, other players and even movie star Depp (losing his movie contracts and distribution support) don't deserver guilty before innocent treatments. The last two were found to have been falsely accused by vindicative and money-grubbing women.
Flute
So he is suing for an amount he can reasonably think they can most likely not afford even in a lifetime without being forced (potentially with their whole family) into not good business. That smell like a scare tactics : I withdraw if you withdraw.
I guess he missed some PR course. If these lady allegation are fake or you genuinely think there are you should not sue for anymore than real financial damage with keeping check of the real world value of money.
Remind me of Yamaguchi and his 130millions.
So I do not if he is a rapist but sure he is not a good person.
Flute
... I forgot : and ideally sue after the ruling stating you were innocent.
timeon
Speed, this is why he is suing them for 200 mil. At this morning news, his lawyer said he already lost roughly double that amount from cancelled endorsements, legal fees, agency fees, etc., not to talk about his reputation and time lost during the peak of this career. Experts said that reaching a verdict can take 1 year or more (there are two trials, one criminal, the other civil), which is a lot for a professional athlete. His lawyer says they have photos, videos, and message exchanges that prove his innocence, I guess we have to wait and see the evidence.
kohakuebisu
Thank you for making my point. Itoh is responsible for his own actions only, not any reality or perception of Japan as a patriarchal society. It would be unfair and highly unproductive to judge or punish him for Japanese society.
Yubaru
This is assuming there IS a criminal trial. The police are investigating and without them making a decision whether or not to submit charges to the public prosecutor, will determine if there is any trial at all.
In previous cases, somewhere along the line, money changed hands, investigations stopped, allegations withdrawn, and both accusers and accused, went on with their lives.
What is unusual here is the speed with which he is filing the lawsuit. It sends a message that, at least to him, he sure as hell didnt do anything wrong and is going to fight.
stan
An excellent bit of advice that would be better for men and women alike.
This, of course, has nothing to do with the his point.
Yubaru
Nah, marriage alone is not a way to avoid or prevent sexual assault.
All off this is purely an issue of judgement, more than likely on all sides.
Mark
Pure conjecture.
There could be any number of reasons - perhaps he just believes he can get away with it because it's hard for the women to prove. And he has a lot to lose.
Mark
You are welcome!
It's good to see at least some of us understand the terrible trial victims of rape in Japan face.
MiuraAnjin
If both ladies were catatonic and unable to give consent: rape.
If both ladies' inhibitions had been lowered enough to go along with sex that they might not have when sober: regret. And the only punishment for regret is regret itself.
indigo
give us the names of the two women who accused him
Mr Kipling
Victim blaming or common sense?
A famous soccer player and his friend meet you in a bar, they buy you some drinks then invite you to go to one of their hotel rooms.... What do you think is their purpose? Sure it could be to watch the wonderful selection of on demand videos but probably not.
Chabbawanga
In other words "If you come back to my place anything is fair game". What a horrible take on this situation.
Yubaru
Same here, and the rest of every single comment here, so what's your point?
Mark
Who knows, do you know? There may have been any number of reasons.
HopeSpringsEternal
Based on this litigation, seems more likely that Ito got involved with jealous types, that had relationship expectations or mutually discovered promiscuity. Internet makes that easier than most realize.
They certainly cannot pay these damages he seeks, so really just trying to recover his reputation it would seem.
Mr Kipling
Chabbawanga...
No, of course not. But any girl with an ounce of common sense should at least be questioning the motives for going back to a hotel room.
kohakuebisu
For clarification, I think Itoh should be "John Doe" here. The biggest problem is him being publically named before anything has been proven. It is very bad for women making rape accusations to be sued by the man. This will stop women who've been attacked coming forward. The need for Itoh to clear his name has only arisen due to the publication of his name. its bad for him and bad for the women, with only the scandal rags winning.
owzer
I'm sorry you had to go through that. Rejection hurts anytime it happens.
If someone were to withdraw consent during, then you'd just stop (not even a single pump beyond withdrawal of consent, mind you!) And it wouldn't be rape.
ian
He would have sued just the same even if his name wasn't published
smithinjapan
Only in Japan can you get away with this kind of thing. It's like the clown that sued Shiori Ito because he outed him for raping her.
smithinjapan
I guess it's no surprise Japan ranks dead last in industrialized nations in terms of gender equality and almost dead last in 150 nations listed.
kohakuebisu
And brought attention to himself? Presumably he is suing for "fu-hyou higai", reputational damage. The sum would make no sense otherwise. Its the same with the soy sauce bottle lickers. Otherwise its just 500 yen for a new soy sauce bottle or the cost of washing one.
ian
Yes I believe that it doesn't make sense to you
ian
Anyway if you're preoccupied with the sum maybe you could start with looking into how much he stands to lose or lost already as a direct result of the charge, if any
Flute
@ian
I think you forgot one tiny thing :
Ito is a married man* which aknowledged being unfaithfulLet's remember what usually happen when some japanese celebrity is caught involved in adultery ?
*伊東純也 一般女性と結婚を発表「これまで以上に努力を」南野拓実ら祝福 - 日本代表 : 日刊スポーツ (nikkansports.com)
kaimycahl
Blame the rape on the Alcohol, which means it will be a moot case, the women will say they were to drunk and Ito will say he was too drunk. This means both parties were responsible for their own drunken behavior.
oyatoi
As opposed to being truthfully accused? Then why not just say so?
John
I hope he gets a fair treatment at court. If women cry, whatever they say are considered truth and men have to prove each word in their sentences. It’s unlikely he can win regardless of the situation.
unfortunately, majority of the courts, authorities, law makers, even regulations, and most people are bias towards believing a woman. It also matters if women are talking normal, crying or playing of a victim, and her appearance.
Redtail Swift
CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! Standing ovation for Mr. Ito! Go all the way! Follow the Johnny Depp playbook.
SUE THEM! We've got to shut these women who make false allegations down. We men have to stand up to the women who weaponize the #MeToo for their financial gain.
There are REAL victims out there. Then there are these women who are trying to "finesse" their way into financial gain. We need to go after the Amber Heards of any society.
After Mr Ito wins, go after the team as well. Men who won't stand with men need to be held accountable as well.
kwakiutler
Did he have drinks with them in a hotel bar? Yes.
Did they proceed up to his hotel room after drinks? Yes.
That is all we know. I hope the investigation is thorough and accurate.
Good luck to both parties. May justice prevail.
Pacificpilot
Ito has taken the offensive. Sue the hell out of his accusers to scare them into dropping the charges. These women probably have no significant assets to be scared by this tactic. He could face the music in court or he could do what a famous NBA player did when accused of rape. In that case he bought the victim off and the case was dropped by the complainant.
justsomeguy8008
What I don't understand is if both parties are drunk how is it he raped them? Couldn't you also say they raped him? In cases were both parties are drunk why is it always only the ladies that couldn't give consent but the men can?
AmericanInAmerica
"This whole situation is all the more reason for men and women to wait till marriage before having sex."
You're getting lots of downvotes for this, Quo Primo, but I revived an old account on here just to upvote you. There are a lot of us thinking this way, but we're too afraid to speak up. Your courage is inspiring.
A few down votes in the comments section of an obscure internet newspaper is a small price to pay. :)