Prosecutors decide not to indict 4 firefighters arrested over gang-rape of teenager at karaoke parlor

What's missing from this story???

Late teens? 17? 18? Legally a child in Japan. Plied with alcohol until she passes out then gang raped in a karaoke booth. But no problem as the honourable and brave firemen paid her some cash.

Sorry Japan, something very wrong here.

Shame the victim into silence, discourage her from taking it further by threatening her with negative publicity - that's the way it is for rape victims here as it is in many countries.

I assume she was underage for drinking, not having sex.

This young woman didn't have sex. She was not a participant. These men all raped her.

Hmmm police blow the whistle and they got no evidence to prove their allegation? Or the girl has received her money and decided not to sue?

No reason was given for the decision not to proceed with the indictment, Sankei Shimbun reported.

Lemme guess, they bowed, apologized, pleaded and paid their way out of the situation. If they got away from this, they can still do it again. In the very least, kick them out of the service.

There seem to be important details missing from this story. I do not blame JT as perhaps the courts did give more details.

So due to the way the law is written, if she didn't fight with all her might then she willingly agreed to be gang raped while unconscious.? Got to hand it to law makers they sure know how to disempower half the population. Now there are 4 gang rapists just wandering around. Nice Japan nice.

This is like a green light for any scumbag who thinks they maybe able to get away with it. What a disgrace.

That’s just not good enough in a democratic society. These prosecutors and the police seem to have no accountability

Do Japanese people just bow down to authority so much that no one even questions these mysterious legal decisions?

Those prosecutors should be out of jobs and be brought up on charges themselves.

No reason was given for the decision not to proceed with the indictment, 

Reason only given in closed door, that's well convenient transparency.

Japanese "justice" at its finest.

No reason was given

Yep. Thought so.

Absolutely appalling.

Ahhh corruption, secrets and scandals.

The real Japan.

So enough for an arrest and to make the national papers the first time, but not enough for a prosecution in this follow-up report.

What has happened may not be suspicious, but it certainly looks it.

No reason was given for the decision not to proceed with the indictment, Sankei Shimbun reported.

A large brown paper bag full of cash and the charges were dropped.

This young woman didn't have sex. She was not a participant. These men all raped her.

If she was below age, it would have been rape anyhow.

That was my point.

"The underage victim had passed out after drinking alcohol at the time of the sexual assault, police said."

aww come on these goons cant be trusted , especially with public safety..

What is statistically far more likely than a someone lying about being raped, is that the victim of rape has been doubted, accused of lying, blamed for her behaviour, and threatened with bad publicity.

How many rapists must we castrate before women and men are safe to live their lives?

There's a strange concept.......

It is a very unlikely concept- extremely rare. As rare as someone making up a story about being burgled, beaten up, or having their wallet stolen.

Rape culture: when the only time a victim of a crime is doubted and the criminal believed, is when a man rapes a woman.

The court did NOT give more details.

Ugh. Phone keyboards.

Meh. She may have lied about her age, encouraged them, then was like "surprise! I'm a minor! Pay up beaches!"

Sure. A young woman would choose to drink so much that she passes out in order to have four stinking men grunt and sweat their stink all over her while she is unconscious - probably without condoms - so that she can be shamed and humiliated by family and strangers.

Or maybe the above quoted comment is another slice of misogyny rape-apologist BS pie, and in fact these men are vicious rapists who - yet again - are getting away with rape because sympathy too often lies with the rapists and not the victim. This is not justice, this is money letting criminals go free. Pay the fine, buy your freedom. Prisons are not filled with criminals, they are filled with people who can't afford to get away with what they did.

Scum like this will rape again. Let's hope it's not you who asks for it next time.

Bugle Boy of Company B Aug. 19 05:58 pm JST

Meh. She may have lied about her age, encouraged them, then was like "surprise! I'm a minor! Pay up beaches!"

I think it is far more likely that they noticed she was drunk, figured she'd be easy to take advantage of because she is so young, and her helplessness in particular turned their crank. So they invited her into their room, gave her even more alcohol, and then took turns raping her unconscious body.

Her parents didn't want her going through the trauma of a court case, so a deal was reached where the four would pay compensation money.

Rest assured that no, she won't drink alcohol around men again, because this incident will scar her for life and probably make it completely impossible for her to ever trust any man ever again.

And men will continue to say things like "Why don't women report rape" and "When women say they don't trust men because men might rape them, that is sexist."

Misogyny is never-ending.

I called it back in the original article. That she would forgive them after they paid her off. There's no other logical reason for the case to be dropped, except that the victim does not want to press charges.

Can we assume her education up to PHD and then some is fully paid for?

I assume she was underage for drinking, not having sex.

Whatever it may be , disgraceful!!!

There's no other logical reason for the case to be dropped, except that the victim does not want to press charges.

It seems they skip the whole process in clear cases like this similar to a summary judgment further reduced with no judgement and just the payoff compensation. Saves time, money, and publicity.

there are 'always' reasons! - incurring shame upon themselves and their dept. - that's #1, money can certainly buy quiet, or threats can keep a tight lid on things - but, brushing things under the carpet,like nothing even happened is rather normal ... until it happens again!

Because they are "first responders" and "heroes" - just like their satsu friends.....

You’re not supposed to ask: “This is Japan”.

Hervé L'EisaToday  09:25 am JST

All the negative comments... Perhaps the prosecutors found no EVIDENCE or that the "victim" was less than honest in the complaint. It HAS occurred before that others were falsely accused.

Believe me, if this were true, it would have been in the article.

If she was below age, it would have been rape anyhow.

I know you mean well, but rape is the crime of forcing sexual intercourse upon an obviously unwilling person. What you are describing is not rape, or it would be rape even among people of the same age, and every young teenage couple would be traumatized. What you are describing is an age of consent violation where its not any of the people directly involved, but courts, parents and society that withdrew consent. But that is not what happened since she was late teens and the age of consent in most Japanese prefectures is 16.

The questions here are 1) did sexual contact really occur and 2) was she actually passed out. I don't see any concrete proof of either and this is the tip of the iceberg of why rape cases are so very frustrating.

Learn that no reason is a reason in Japan.

My reasoning is not a reason that I am reasonable, if I was reasoning as a Japanese.

But I am not...my wife is, my children part too ;)

Is this a JOKE or what?

Was she raped or not ? as simple as that.

No reason was given

it's the Japanese culture, they are beings of light that do not need to give explanations to nobody for their actions.

So due to the way the law is written, if she didn't fight with all her might then she willingly agreed to be gang raped while unconscious.?

Oh, reeaAAAALLLlyy!!!

Stewart Gale Aug. 19 11:36 am JST

That’s just not good enough in a democratic society. These prosecutors and the police seem to have no accountability

Do Japanese people just bow down to authority so much that no one even questions these mysterious legal decisions?

In Japanese law, prosecutors have free discretion not to prosecute, and do not have to publish the reasons for their choice.

Since this is where the mercy of the Japanese system comes from - many first-time suspects get their out from the prosecutor's free discretion to Suspend Prosecution, not even human rights lawyers are that interested in getting the relevant article revised. Changing it will likely be to the net-detriment of the defendants.

What's missing from this story???

Maybe, just maybe it wasn't true? There's a strange concept.......

I called it back in the original article. That she would forgive them after they paid her off. There's no other logical reason for the case to be dropped, except that the victim does not want to press charges.

Meh. She may have lied about her age, encouraged them, then was like "surprise! I'm a minor! Pay up beaches!"

Its amazing that people have this deep seated need to believe a rape actually happened despite the total lack of evidence we have been presented with. All we have are a few paltry news articles short on details. The consensus seems to be that if a young female entered a karaoke booth with 3 men OF COURSE they raped her at first opportunity. Its just how guys are.

In truth the list of possibilities here are quite long. Maybe a rape happened and maybe it didn't. We don't know the half of it.

All the negative comments... Perhaps the prosecutors found no EVIDENCE or that the "victim" was less than honest in the complaint. It HAS occurred before that others were falsely accused.