The Tokyo District Court on Thursday ordered the government to pay ¥4.4 million ($30,850) in damages to a former female journalist who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a now-deceased secretary of a member of the parliament.
Presiding Judge Kokoro Nakamura recognized the sexual assault and concluded that it occurred in the course of the assailant's duties as a state-paid secretary.
The state redress law stipulates that the government is liable for harm caused illegally to others by a national civil servant in the course of their duties. The assailant, who was an aide to Upper House lawmaker Kiyoshi Ueda, was a government-paid secretary, making him a national civil servant.
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