Japan Press Weekly

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2020 March 11 - 17 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Appeals court scraps acquittal of a man accused of raping his daughter

The Nagoya High Court on March 12 reversed a lower court decision and sentenced a man to 10 years’ imprisonment, as demanded by public prosecutors, for raping his daughter.

The high court ruling recognized that the daughter was overwhelmed by her father’s continual violence and sexual abuse which began when she was in her second year of junior high school. Furthermore, the high court criticized the defendant for showing no sign of remorse for his crimes.

The first ruling in March 2019 by the Nagoya District Court Okazaki Branch was one of several not-guilty judgements issued last year in rape cases.

The lower court at that time pointed out that the daughter was mentally dominated by her father, and recognized the father’s act as having “sex without consent”. However, the lower court acquitted the man by claiming that the daughter’s condition fell short of being acknowledged as incapable of resistance.

This court judgement sparked fierce criticism from sex crime victims and experts for failing to understand the true nature of sexual assault. They launched the so-called “Flower Demonstration” campaign calling for a revision of the Penal Code so that sex crimes will be penalized regardless of victims’ inability to resist.

On the day following the appeals court decision, at a rally held in front of the courthouse in Nagoya, “Flower Demonstration” activists welcomed the high court decision.

Representative director of “Spring”, a civil organization of sex crime victims and their supporters, Yamamoto Jun said, “The appeals court ruling corrected the mistake the lower court made and acknowledged the victims’ sufferings.”

Following the ruling, the plaintiff published a comment through her legal team which states, “When I hear and learn about the development of the “Flower Demonstration” and other anti-sexual violence movements, I become convinced that my court battle has meaning.”

Past related articles:
> JCP Fujino calls for revision of Penal Code in order to protect mentally-handicapped from sexual abuse [December 2, 2019]
> Protest against sexual violence take place in 10 locations nationwide [June 12, 2019]