TOKYO: The trial of a Japanese former senior prosecutor accused of rape in one of the country's most high-profile cases of alleged sexual assault restarted on Tuesday after a two-year pause.
Few women in Japan speak out about sexual assault, but a former prosecutor, who uses the pseudonym Hikari, came forward in 2024 to accuse her boss of raping her six years earlier.
The trial first began in October 2024 but was halted after Kentaro Kitagawa – who served as head of the Osaka District Public Prosecutor's Office at the time of the alleged rape – withdrew his initial admission of guilt and said the sex was consensual.
On Tuesday Kitagawa told the court that sex took place but repeated his not guilty plea and "denied that she was unable to resist", according to public broadcaster NHK.
