TOYAMA: A Japanese court sentenced a man to eight years imprisonment on Tuesday for raping his daughter, who publicly identified herself in a rare move for the country where most sexual assault victims remain anonymous.
Koji Daimon was convicted of raping his daughter Riho Fukuyama in 2016 while she was in high school.
He admitted to the act but maintained his innocence by arguing that “my daughter was in a state where she could have resisted”.
Judge Toshiaki Umezawa stated that “given that the victim continues to suffer physical and mental distress to this day… the consequences must be deemed grave”.
Fukuyama revealed the rapes began during junior high school when her mother was absent from home.
She went public with her identity in March last year following her father’s arrest.
Only a handful of similar crime victims have revealed their identities in Japan.
“I was relieved” after hearing the ruling, Fukuyama told reporters outside the Toyama court.
“I want to tell the world sexual violence within families does exist. Please don’t look away from victims.”
Fukuyama expressed earlier this year that she worried people wouldn’t believe her sexual abuse claims.
“I want a society where, even when you tell others you’ve been victimised, the immediate response is ‘It’s not your fault’,“ she said at the time.
Among other Japanese victims who have gone public are journalist Shiori Ito, who won a landmark civil case against a prominent TV reporter who raped her.
In 2021, Rina Gonoi accused fellow soldiers of sexual assault, resulting in three receiving suspended sentences.
Both women received praise for their bravery but also faced online hate that forced Ito to move to London.
A recent high-profile case involves an Osaka prosecutor who accused her former boss of rape while remaining anonymous to protect her career.
Modest-sized rallies against sexual violence emerged across Japan after several alleged rapists were acquitted in 2019.
Legal changes have helped, with rape definitions broadening in 2017 and the requirement for victims to prove violence or intimidation removed in 2023.
Since Fukuyama’s assaults predated these law changes, prosecutors indicted her father under the then-applicable offence. – AFP
