The Shame of Japan
After the second world war, Japan has been a staunch supporter of democratic values. They have acted admirably in every field, except in one important one: Their treatment of women. Because of the prevalent culture in the country, women are not encouraged to voice strong opinions or to speak out against men. According to a documentary I watched last night, in a survey most women reveal that they have been groped on public transport, exposed to, upskirted or even seen men jerk off while watching them. However, they do not dare go to the police, as they are afraid of being ridiculed. There are about 6 % women only in the Japanese police force, which makes it embarrassing for someone to report the abuse.
Rape is not uncommon, and technically it is illegal, but few cases ever go to court. There are very few Rape Crisis centres. In the United Kingdom, there are over 600 whilst in the whole of Japan with double the population there are only 41. The system makes it difficult for the rapist to be arraigned let alone convicted. The (male) police officers are not sympathetic to the victims. The plaintiff is expected to simulate the rape action with dolls in front of cynical male coppers. Victims call this the “second rape”
Noriyuki Yamaguchi was the former Washington Bureau chief of Tokyo Broadcasting System Television. A young journalist, a Ms Shiori asked for his help in getting a job, and he invited her to dinner. Alcohol flowed freely, and she lost consciousness. She said she had no evidence that he had used drugs on her. She found herself in his hotel bedroom next morning. Horrified, she
accused him of rape, and he said that the sex they had was consensual. In Japan sex is defined as consensual if the woman agreed to be kissed, if the woman was drunk, the bottom line being that the woman did not scream or throw herself out of the window. When Ms Shiori lodged a complaint, she was the one who met with the greater share of criticism. Women were just as vociferous as men. How can a woman talk about the sex act in public? Had she no shame? Yamaguchi was never interviewed by police. The only interview he had was with colleagues on television, where he joked about Ms Shiori’s prolific drinking.
Ms Shiori was advised by everybody to forget her ordeal, and to get on with her life, but she decided not to. After near insurmountable difficulties, she got the police to issue an arrest warrant for Mr Yamaguchi, and a team was apparently already at the airport waiting for the accused man to arrive from the US, but before the plane touched down, the officer in charge got an order “from above”, to leave Yamaguchi alone. The influent pressman was a close friend of Mr Shinto Abe the prime minister.
