sexual assault breaking the silence

Purple Magazine
— Purple #43 S/S 2025
The Tokyo Diary Issue

sexual assault breaking the silence

essay

by KARYN NISHIMURA-POUPÉE

Sexual assault — insufficiently reported, taboo, poorly addressed, and still rarely punished — remains a serious issue in Japan. Victims often remain silent and, when they do dare speak out, face harsh criticism and a legal framework so restrictive that, until recently, rape has been extremely hard to prove. Despite the high-profile case of Shiori Ito¯, a journalist who accused a veteran television executive and biographer of former Prime Minister Shinzo¯ Abe of raping her, the #MeToo movement in Japan has not gained the same momentum as in France. To make matters worse, in 2018 and 2019, particularly shocking acquittals in cases of incest discouraged victims from embarking on lengthy judicial procedures with no assurance of success, even when the perpetrators had confessed to the crime and especially when they denied it. Out of desperation, many victims turn to civil courts. Shiori Ito¯, author of La Boîte Noire (Black Box), which chronicles her fight after her rape failed to be recognized by the criminal justice system, is one such example. The paradox is that in civil court, the crime can be acknowledged, and the perpetrator ordered to compensate the victim, even though they will not face criminal prosecution. However, the accused can, in turn, sue the complainant for defamation. In some cases, they win and are awarded damages by their accuser. This happened to Shiori Ito¯, who, when I met her, wore heavy makeup, a hat, and glasses to avoid being recognized after receiving numerous threats. She had dared to accuse someone more powerful than herself — a man within the establishment. Even though, since 2017, prosecutors have been allowed to initiate cases without a victim lodging a complaint, legal experts, academics, and various organizations have spent years advocating for expanded legal recourse. They pushed for the condemnation of sexual acts without clear consent and for the age of consent to be raised from 13 to 16. Their efforts paid off with a vote in mid-June 2023 introducing additional criteria into the law for defining forced sexual acts. These criteria include pressure to consume alcohol or drugs, psychological coercion, hierarchical dominance, and more. The standard for resistance was also revised, shifting from “extremely difficult” to “difficult,” taking into account cases of shock or paralysis where the victim is unable to physically resist extreme violence. These legislative changes offer hope for better legal recognition by broadening the scope of acts considered sexual assault or rape. Previous laws tended to discourage both male and female victims of rape from filing complaints, particularly as the response from law enforcement and the justice system often left much to be desired.

In 2023, Japanese police recorded 2,711 rapes and 4,900 cases of sexual misconduct. Among these, a significant portion included cases of groping (chikan), predominantly committed by individuals in crowded public transportation. The packed trains of Tokyo create an environment conducive to such offenses, with victims often paralyzed to the point of remaining silent.

Now, cameras have been installed in train and subway cars to curb this issue. These cameras act as a deterrent and also serve as investigative tools. Officially, police made 143 arrests of suspected gropers in 2020, compared with 230-270 arrests in previous years, aligning with the gradual implementation of video surveillance. However, these official statistics do not reflect the full reality. A more accurate picture emerges when combining judicial data with field surveys. For instance, centers supporting victims of sexual violence received 23,300 requests for assistance in 2020, rising to 29,400 the following year. In June 2022, the Japanese government surveyed 6,224 young people aged 16 to 24; 26.4% reported experiencing some form of sexual assault, ranging from sexualized verbal harassment to unwanted touching and nonconsensual sexual acts perpetrated by teachers, classmates, partners, individuals met online, or strangers. However, over half of the victims did not file a report. Unwanted touching, on the other hand, was more frequently perpetrated by strangers in public spaces or on public transport. Yet, 40% of those who identified as victims of such incidents did not report them to anyone.

In 2022, the government committed to strengthening measures against the chikan phenomenon, following, among other actions, a petition by the Japanese Youth Assembly highlighting the vulnerability of young women, such as high school and college students. Evidence is crucial in addressing this issue, which is double-sided. While women are indeed victims of groping, some men claim to face false accusations based solely on the testimony of alleged victims. Specialized lawyers advise men in crowded trains to keep their hands visible at all times (such as holding onto hand straps when standing in tightly packed train cars) to avoid wrongful accusations, due to the actions of someone nearby or misunderstandings caused by forced proximity. The government’s 2022 prevention efforts included the establishment of support centers for victims, but the focus remains largely on financial measures to assist grassroots organizations working in the field.

Public opinion in Japan was shaken following a BBC documentary aired in early 2023, where young stars came forward to reveal that the guru behind their careers as sculpted idols had sexually abused them for years. How many members of the boy bands managed by Johnny Kitagawa’s agency, Johnny & Associates, suffered at the hands of this so-called “maker of princes”? The question remains unanswered, as no complaints were ever officially filed. Kitagawa passed away in 2019, successfully brushing off allegations first raised decades earlier by the weekly magazine Shu¯kan Bunshun, which stood alone against a silent mainstream media heavily reliant on the young “Johnnies” for their variety shows. The cruelty of the abuse described by these now-adult victims demonstrates the depth of Kitagawa’s hold over them. Many victims, even as they break their silence, say they bear no ill will toward him, acknowledging that they owe their stardom to his influence. However, some are now advocating for changes in the law. Legal reform is necessary, but even the most comprehensive laws cannot address the issue unless young victims have safe, supportive spaces in which they can speak out, in a society that listens to and does not ostracize them.

Sexual assault is not always recognized as such by the victims themselves. In Japan, there is also a taboo surrounding incest and marital rape. While public awareness often focuses on young girls abused by their fathers, recent revelations have uncovered disturbing cases of young boys and adolescents suffering abuse at the hands of their mothers — women they felt unable to refuse. Reports to SOS helplines frequently involve single mothers who, isolated by societal stigma and economic hardships, become trapped in their roles.

Domestic violence in general remains underreported but has been increasingly brought to light. Since 2012, reports to police have more than doubled, reaching over 88,000 cases in 2023, although only about 10% of these cases result in arrests.

Nearly half of Japan’s annual homicides occur within families, with 15% to 20% involving spouses. Approximately 150 murders every year are committed between partners, most often married. Interestingly, not all are femicides. Around 40% involve wives killing their husbands, often in cases of self-defense or revenge after enduring abuse, as the majority of domestic violence is perpetrated against women. An unexpected trend emerges when analyzing the age dynamics of domestic violence: among couples under 40, male partners are more frequently the victims of physical abuse by their female partners than the reverse. In older age groups, women become the primary victims.

END

EXCERPT FROM JAPON, LA FACE CACHÉE DE LA PERFECTION BY KARYN NISHIMURA-POUPÉE, ÉDITIONS TALLANDIER, 2023, PARIS.

[Table of contents]

editor’s letter
Read the article
empire of signs
by Roland Barthes
Subscription
coming soon
cover #1 takashi murakami
interview by Jérôme Sans
Read the article
takashi murakami
interview by Jérôme Sans
Read the article
ryoko sekiguchi
interview by Mark Alizart and Olivier Zahm
Subscription
coming soon
cover #2 motoko ishibashi
Subscription
coming soon
motoko ishibashi
interview by Aleph Molinari
Subscription
coming soon
atsuko tanaka
Subscription
coming soon
sexual assault breaking the silence
by Karyn Nishimura-Poupée
Subscription
coming soon
juergen teller and nobuyoshi araki
Subscription
coming soon
chiho aoshima
Subscription
coming soon
hajime sawatari
Subscription
coming soon
suwa nagano
by Stéphane Sednaoui
Subscription
coming soon
fetish magazines
by Katerina Jebb
Subscription
coming soon
tadanoori yokoo
text by André Michel
Subscription
coming soon
kazumi asamura hayashi
Subscription
coming soon
keiichi tanaami
Subscription
coming soon
fumihiro hayashi
text by Olivier Zahm
Subscription
coming soon
nobuyoshi araki
portrait by Chikashi Suzuki
Subscription
coming soon
tomoo gokita
interview by Olivier Zahm
Subscription
coming soon
cover #4 tomoo gokita
Subscription
coming soon
loewe s/s 2025
photography by Suffo Moncloa
Subscription
coming soon
hajime sorayama
Subscription
coming soon
my father
by Rick Owens
Read the article
announcement to humanity
by Ryoko Sekiguchi
Subscription
coming soon
cover #3 katerina jebb
Subscription
coming soon
cover #5 loewe s/s 2025
photography by Suffo Moncloa
Subscription
coming soon
masahisa fukase
Read the article
hajime kinoko
interview by Olivier Zahm
Read the article
raiki yamamoto
Subscription
coming soon
cover #6 masahisa fukase
Subscription
coming soon
kunichi nomura
text by Aaron Rose
Subscription
coming soon
aya takano
Subscription
coming soon
tomoyo kawari
Subscription
coming soon
masaru hatanaka
interview by Aleph Molinari
Subscription
coming soon
why japan?
by Urs Fischer, Ramdane Touhami, Stéphane Sednaoui
Subscription
coming soon
cover #8 esther rose-mcgregor in valentino s/s 2025
photography by Hart Lëshkina
Subscription
coming soon
why japan?
by Helmut Lang
Subscription
coming soon
minoru nomata
Subscription
coming soon
in praise of shadows
by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
Subscription
coming soon
best of the season s/s 2025
photography by Takashi Homma
Subscription
coming soon
purple beauty nails
by Mei Kawajiri
Subscription
coming soon
ryūichi sakamoto
Subscription
coming soon
valentino s/s 2025
photography by Hart Lëshkina
Subscription
coming soon
nobuyoshi araki
Subscription
coming soon
cover #10 bottega veneta
photography by Nikolai von Bismarck
Subscription
coming soon
balenciaga s/s 2025
photography by Juergen Teller
Read the article
kazuo ohno
Subscription
coming soon
cover #7 prada s/s 2025
photography by Takashi Homma
Subscription
coming soon
butoh the dance of darkness
photography by Nikolai von Bismarck
Subscription
coming soon
cover #9 balenciaga s/s 2025
photography by Juergen Teller
Read the article
tomihiro kono
photography by Joe Lai
Subscription
coming soon
cover #12 comme des garçons s/s 2025
photography by Ola Rindal
Subscription
coming soon
comme des garçons s/s 2025
photography by Ola Rindal
Read the article
cover #11 nobuyoshi araki
Subscription
coming soon
chanel s/s 2025
photography by Chikashi Suzuki
Subscription
coming soon
the japanese lessons we refuse to learn
by Daido Moriyama
Subscription
coming soon
dualité by brioni and lalique
photography by Olivier Zahm
Read the article
pink eiga
Subscription
coming soon
cover #18 sakura andō in chanel s/s 2025
photography by Chikashi Suzuki
Subscription
coming soon
noritoshi hirakawa
Subscription
coming soon
tomo koizumi
photography by Chikashi Suzuki
Subscription
coming soon
trails
by Takashi Homma
Subscription
coming soon
koji kimura
by André Michel
Subscription
coming soon
cover #13 dualité by brioni and lalique
photography by Olivier Zahm
Subscription
coming soon
daido moriyama
Subscription
coming soon
erotica
by Olivier Zahm
Subscription
coming soon
purple story
Read the article
takuro kuwata
Subscription
coming soon
cover #16 saint laurent by anthony vaccarello s/s 2025
photography by Takashi Homma
Read the article
setsuko klossowska de rola
Subscription
coming soon
cover #15 paul & joe
photography by Olivier Zahm
Subscription
coming soon
why japan?
by Coco Capitán
Subscription
coming soon
alejandro garcia contreras
Subscription
coming soon
casablanca s/s 2025
photography by Keizo Motoda
Read the article
why japan?
by Stefano Pilati
Subscription
coming soon
saint laurent by anthony vaccarello s/s 2025
photography by Takashi Homma
Read the article
why japan?
by André
Subscription
coming soon
best of men s/s 2025
Photography by Kejichi Nitta
Read the article
kei ninomiya
interview by Olivier Zahm
Subscription
coming soon
anders edström
Subscription
coming soon
zen gardens
by Takashi Homma
Subscription
coming soon
wabi-sabi spiritual values
by Leonard Koren
Subscription
coming soon
wim wenders
interview by Olivier Zahm and Aleph Molinari
Subscription
coming soon
miu miu s/s 2025
photography by Coco Capitán
Subscription
coming soon
ruth asawa
Subscription
coming soon
kazuyo sejima
Subscription
coming soon
waves
by Takashi Homma
Subscription
coming soon
jun takahashi
interview by Aleph Molinari
Subscription
coming soon
cover #14 casablanca s/s 2025
photography by Keizo Motoda
Subscription
coming soon
kumiko
by Anna Dubosc
Subscription
coming soon
yōko yamanaka
interview by Olivier Zahm
Subscription
coming soon
mariko mori
Subscription
coming soon
cover #17 miu miu s/s 2025
photography by Coco Capitán
Subscription
coming soon
the tokyo toilet
by Koji Yanai
Subscription
coming soon
ann lee in anzen zone
by Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster
Subscription
coming soon
young designers s/s 2025
Photography by Dasom Han
Subscription
coming soon
kenshu shintsubo
Subscription
coming soon
why japan?
by Setsuko
Subscription
coming soon
the original hotel okura
by Valerie Sadoun
Subscription
coming soon
kyoto international conference center
by Sachio Otani
Subscription
coming soon
tadashi kawamata
interview by Aleph Molinari
Subscription
coming soon
purple beauty make-up
photography by Eamonn Zeel Freel
Subscription
coming soon
self-portrait
Takashi Homma
Subscription
coming soon
kids
by Takashi Homma
Subscription
coming soon
hideaki kawashima
Subscription
coming soon
yoshitomo nara
Subscription
coming soon
yasujirō ozu
Subscription
coming soon
the isamu noguchi garden museum
Subscription
coming soon
yoko and john in karuizawa
by François Simon
Subscription
coming soon