Rina Gonoi came forward in summer 2022 to demand a reinvestigation of the case that authorities dropped nearly a year earlier, saying the sexual assault caused her to give up her military career. Now, with her court case won and widespread problems uncovered in the organization, she hopes Japan’s Self Defense Force will be reborn as a place where everyone can easily speak up against harassment.
“I could not put (the assaults) behind as if nothing happened, and because of my appreciation for the Self Defense Force, I wanted them to become a better organization,” Gonoi told reporters Wednesday in Tokyo.
