A woman who was sexually harassed while serving in the Ground Self-Defense Force said Monday that she has filed a civil lawsuit against the perpetrators, as well as the state for its failure to prevent abuse and investigate her claims.
In the suit filed at the Yokohama District Court, Rina Gonoi, who served in a unit at Camp Koriyama in Fukushima Prefecture, is seeking ¥5.5 million ($42,400) in damages from the five perpetrators and an additional ¥2 million from the state.
The 23-year-old said during a news conference in Tokyo that she filed the suit not out of ill feeling toward the Self-Defense Forces but out of a desire to "prevent these things from happening again."