Newsfrom Japan
Apr 24, 2025 17:10 (JST)
Tokyo, April 24 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo District Court on Thursday ordered the Japanese government to pay 4.4 million yen in damages to a former female journalist who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a now-deceased secretary to a member of the Diet, Japan’s parliament.
Presiding Judge Kokoro Nakamura ordered the damages payment as the state redress law stipulates that the state is liable for damage caused illegally to others by a national civil servant in the course of their duties. The assailant, who was an aide to Kiyoshi Ueda, a member of the House of Councillors, the upper Diet chamber, was a government-paid secretary.
The former reporter had demanded 11 million yen, saying that the late secretary, a national civil servant, had sexually assaulted her during his duties after inviting her to meet him on the pretext of providing information. She also argued that Ueda had neglected his duty of care.
The government argued that providing information to specific reporters was not part of the duties of a state-paid secretary.
According to the complaint, the former journalist was indecently assaulted by the ex-secretary in a taxi and elsewhere in March 2020, while returning from a dinner meeting with lawmakers of the House of Representatives, the lower Diet chamber, on COVID-19 measures.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]