つづき です。
Shiori’s news conference led to heated debate online, and
supporters quickly set up advocacy groups for her on social
media while others stood outside parliament in solidarity,
holding placards bearing the hashtag #FightTogetherWithShiori.
Shiori also faced vitriol and criticism for going public.
Critics took to social media to say that she was using the
case to gain fame, while other commentators blamed opponents of the
Abe administration for orchestrating her press conference. And of course,
there were many comments that her shirt was too revealing, which
for a large number of Japanese men, seems to discredit her allegations.
Shinji Takeda, the president of Tokyo Broadcasting System Television
(TBS), told reporters at a recent briefing the company did receive
inquiries from the police at the time of the investigation but
Yamaguchi quit without discussing details of the case with his
employer.
The public distrust and paranoia that the Abe administration’s
heavy-handed political tactics have generated have elevated Shiori’
s case to a subject of national debate, even in parliamentary sessions.
Of course, the opposition party sees it as a political opportunity
to cast light on the Machiavellian machinations of Abe and his
cronies—but that doesn’t mean they’re wrong.
Even members of Abe’s own political party fear the allegations
that Abe or Mr. Fixit interfered with a police investigation
are true. An Upper House Member in the LDP told The Daily Beast,
“Do I know that Abe or Suga blocked this investigation? I do not.
Do I believe that they could or would? Yes, without a doubt.
The admirable thing about Shinzo Abe and his spiritual doppelgänger
Suga is their absolutely fierce loyalty to their friends—they
would bend the law, break the law, or cover up a scandal for
their bosom buddies. In Japan, that’s a virtue. Such loyalty
from the Oyabun (father-figure) generates great loyalty from
the Kobun (child-figures). They would also do the same outrageous
things to crush an enemy or the enemy of their friend. They
terrorize members of our own party who express opposition not
just the media or the occasional principled bureaucrat.
I also believe they are true patriots. The problem is, and
sometimes we forget this, elected officials are supposed to
serve the public not their cronies or their own self-interests.
The fact that the incredibly cautious Japanese media is
reporting this at all should tell you, or anyone who knows Japan,
that there is a real problem here.”
On his public Facebook page, Yamaguchi has consistently denied
all allegations saying, “I have not done anything that violates
or touches upon the the law,” and has written a long rebuttal
to Shiori’s allegations.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s wife, Akie, “liked” his posts.
In an email responding to questions from The Daily Beast,
Yamaguchi said, “I am not acquainted at all with Itaru Nakamura,
the previous head of the investigative bureau at the National
Police Agency. I have never met, spoken, nor made any acquaintance
with him at any event. I do not have his contact information.”
He continued, “I have neither informed nor consulted with
politicians, including Prime Minister Abe or Chief Cabinet
Secretary Suga on this issue.” Yamaguchi insists that this
is simply a matter between a male and female journalist and
that there was nothing unusual about the investigation.
Yet, it is hard to see this as the case, because multiple police
sources assert that if Yamaguchi was not a famous journalist or
a friend of the prime minister, he would have been arrested and
subject to 23 days of interrogation without a lawyer present,
just like most suspects in Japan. The Japanese criminal justice
system itself is incredibly problematic and unfair, but it
becomes an issue of great concern when the unfairness isn’t
applied fairly.
Shiori is preparing a civil suit against Mr. Yamaguchi as well.
Her lawyers point to a successful case last March where a civil
court ruled in favor of a rape victim. The case, a rare victory
for sexual assault victims, involved a then-26-year-old woman
who was allegedly drugged then raped by her colleagues in 2011.
The woman filed a complaint with the police immediately after
the alleged assault, but investigators sat on the case for
more than four years, forcing the victim to turn to civil court.
“This case was an important precedent because many victims think
that because they don’t remember (the assault) they have no recourse,”
said Dr. Chieko Nagai, who treated the plaintiff and provided
medical testimony in her civil case. Nagai, who runs a small
medical clinic in Tokyo, said she sees parallels in the 2016
case with that of Shiori. She notes Japanese police and medical
institutions fail victims by not running blood and urine tests
immediately after an alleged attack to determine if victims
were drugged.
Lawyers and advocates say sexual assault victims would not
have to turn to civil courts if criminal cases were properly
investigated. Women forced to seek relief in civil courts
because of failures in the penal system are similar to victims
of Japan’s organized crime groups, the yakuza. Police sometimes
fail to pin murder cases on yakuza bosses, mostly because
prosecutors flinch at taking anything but slam-dunk cases,
but the families of the deceased can sue the top bosses in
civil court for damages under the guise of “employer liability.”
They usually win and thus the yakuza will now often settle out of court.
Shiori has asked the Prosecutorial Review Board to rule for
prosecution in her case. Her odds of winning such a decision are
roughly 1 percent. And even if the first decision goes in her favor,
the prosecution may still refuse to indict again.
Her lawyer says, “I know the odds are against us but I believe
that an objective review of the evidence we have collected by a
disinterested third party will result in justice being done and
the case being tried in court, not being discarded at the
front door.”
Even if Shiori wins nothing in her own case, she has helped make
a remarkable thing come true for Japanese women—the first major
revisions of the sexual assault laws in over a hundred years.
Shiori says that she read this Daily Beast article, “Does
Japan Ever Convict Men For Rape,” before her press conference
and during her speech pointed out that she felt it was problematic
that the Abe government had given priority to the terrible
“terrorism” bill rather than revising the sexual assault laws.
The audacity of her two sentences of criticism earned her jeers
as “a left-wing plant” from Japan’s cyber trolls but it also
reminded the public that the sexual assault of women in this
country has continued with impunity for far too long.
Despite everything, her efforts were not in vain. Shiori
informed us, in a short message written in English,
“On the last day of the Diet session [last Friday]
I received a message from the Diet Affairs Committee Chairman
that they changed the laws on rape in the last day. And he
thanked me. :) it is a small step but I’m so happy!”
