Tuesday, October 24, 2017, 15:00 - 16:00
Author of "Black Box"
Language: The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation
Freelance journalist Shiori Ito sent shockwaves through Japan when she went public in late May with allegations that she had been raped. Sadly, it wasn't the allegation that caused so much of a stir but the shock that a woman was prepared to go public on camera to detail a sexual assault and name the alleged perpetrator.
The stigma against reporting such crimes in Japan is such that only 4% of victims of sexual assault file complaints with the police, according to Kazuko Tanaka, a female prosecutor and author of "Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigation Handbook."Further, Japan's Justice Ministry in 2012 estimated that only 18.5 percent of sexual assaults were reported to the police over a five-year period, according to a report in the Japan Times. In incidents that had featured an arrest, prosecutors dropped charges in more than half of the cases on average.
Shiori Ito additionally alleges that police officers in the original investigation of her complaint were called off and the case dropped because of political interference. She sought through her lawyers to have the investigation reopened and brought to trial, but this was rejected by the Committee for the Inquest of Prosecution last month.
Ito, however, refused to back down and has written a book explaining her experience. Based on research by legal authorities in Japan that shows significant underreporting of sexual crimes in Japan and at a time when women elsewhere have come forward with details of sexual assault, often by men in positions of power, under the #MeToo hashtag, the FCCJ has invited Ito to speak of her experience.
Please reserve in advance, 3211-3161 or on the website (still & TV cameras inclusive). Reservations and cancellations are not complete without confirmation.
Professional Activities Committee
