Former Osaka senior prosecutor's rape trial resumes after two-year hiatus

Tokyo courts have resumed the trial of Kentaro Kitagawa, who led the Osaka District Public Prosecutor's Office at the time of the alleged assault. The proceedings, halted after Kitagawa retracted his initial confession and asserted consent, now proceed with him again pleading not guilty while acknowledging that sexual activity took place. Over the past two years, the judiciary, prosecutors and defence counsel conducted secret hearings to sort out the contested facts.

Hikari, the complainant who uses a pseudonym, says she lost memory during a company drinking event in 2018 and later found herself raped in Kitagawa's residence, describing the experience as a terrifying nightmare. She reports that Kitagawa pressured her to stay silent, threatening scandal and personal harm, and that rumors spread by an assistant prosecutor, allegedly his lover, worsened her condition. Her calls for an independent probe into prosecutor-office harassment were denied, prompting an internal investigation launched in June and her resignation in August.