Japanese Governor Resigns, Is Charged With Harassment

In a case seen as a social milestone for male-dominated Japan, the governor of Osaka resigned and was simultaneously indicted on sexual assault charges Tuesday for allegedly groping a 21-year-old female campaign worker.

Just hours before his indictment, Isamu “Knock” Yokoyama, 67, who earned his nickname during his earlier days as a comedian, tendered his resignation without comment from the hospital where he has been treated for undisclosed health problems since Monday. He has called the young woman’s accusations “a lie.”

The resignation, while unprecedented, did not come as a surprise. Last week, Yokoyama was ordered by a civil court in Osaka, Japan’s second-largest city, to pay more than $107,300 in damages to the student. The sum was a record for Japan, where a law banning sexual harassment came into effect only in April.

The incident is being hailed by women’s advocates and others as proof that even Japan’s most powerful males can now be held accountable for acts of sexual harassment or assault that until recently were brushed off with a wink and a nod.

“At least superficially, this is a very powerful punch,” said feminist Mariko Mitsui, a lecturer at Hosei University’s faculty of law.

“In a matter of a few months, the Japanese public has had a wonderful education in sexual harassment, thanks to the Yokoyama case,” Mitsui said, adding, “From now on, there will be many more women who will not give up, and that’s good.”

The 21-year-old woman was a college student who reportedly admired Yokoyama and so went to work part time for his reelection campaign. She claimed that the governor groped the lower half of her body for 30 minutes April 8 in the back seat of a campaign van. She filed a criminal complaint the next day, resulting in Tuesday’s indictment. She also filed a civil lawsuit in August.

Yokoyama declined to defend himself in the civil case--a move that many Japanese felt was tantamount to admitting guilt--but he has repeatedly denied the allegations in public. If convicted, he could receive up to seven years in prison.

In contrast to high-profile sexual harassment cases in the United States, the identity of the young student has not been disclosed by the Japanese media, although she filed suit in her own name.

“In today’s Japanese society, fictitious names must be used to protect women,” said lawmaker Tetsundo Iwakuni of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan. “If their real names were used, most women would cry themselves to sleep.” He said, however, that he had not heard even private criticism of the young woman.

Mitsui said that she hopes a time will soon come when Japanese women will be strong enough to make such charges by name.

Several commentators said the high-profile case will probably have some salubrious effect on the sexual behavior of Japanese males--including politicians--if only to make them more cautious about being caught.

Women’s groups are gradually chipping away at the traditional tolerance for male sexual misbehavior. For example, Japanese women for the most part have kept silent even when being molested while crushed up against male passengers on Tokyo’s jampacked subways. Now a new poster campaign sponsored by the subway system features a young woman proudly announcing that she will not tolerate gropers.

Many Japanese companies have also introduced anti-sexual harassment policies, although feminists say that it remains difficult for most women to make complaints and that most still feel their position would be damaged if they publicly accuse their tormentors.

In the Yokoyama case, however, Japanese public opinion appears to be squarely behind the young woman. “It’s an open secret that many politicians are doing bad things, [that] they are not good boys with women, but this case is very different,” said Hiroshi Takaku, a parliament watcher at the Japan Center for International Exchange. “He deserved it, and he should be indicted. This is a criminal case, not a scandal.”