TOKYO: A Japanese court is due Tuesday to give a verdict in the landmark trial of three ex-soldiers accused of sexual assault in a country where still very few victims come forward. STANDING UP Former soldier Rina Gonoi at a news conference at Japan’s National Press Club in the capital Tokyo on Jan. 30, 2023. A Japanese court is due Tuesday, December 12, to give a verdict in the landmark trial of three ex-soldiers accused of sexual assault in a country where still very few victims come forward. "In Japan, suffering sexual violence brings stigma and shame, often leaving survivors reluctant to come forward," Teppei Kasai from Human Rights Watch told AFP. "The 'rape myth' persists in Japan, meaning that there is a widespread assumption that the victims of rape and sexual assault are at fault," said Machiko Osawa, a researcher at Japan Women's University.

Source: Manila Times December 08, 2023 16:30 UTC