World · East Asia & Pacific · 7 hrs ago
Rape trial of former senior Japanese prosecutor resumes after two-year pause
The rape trial of former senior prosecutor Kentaro Kitagawa resumed in Japan on Oct.
27 after a two-year pause.
Kitagawa, who led the Osaka District Public Prosecutor’s Office when the alleged assault took place, pleaded not guilty and said the sex was consensual.
Hikari, a former colleague who uses a pseudonym, says she lost her memory after drinking at an office gathering in 2018 and next remembers being at Kitagawa’s home.
She has said she was unable to resist and feared for her life.
The case has drawn attention in a country where few women speak publicly about sexual assault, and Hikari says rumours spread about her after she came forward in 2024.
Officials rejected her call for an independent probe into harassment in prosecutors’ offices and opened an internal investigation; Hikari resigned in August after her request for workplace safety measures was rejected.
The trial will focus on whether Hikari could resist and whether Kitagawa acted with criminal intent.
Former senior Osaka prosecutor Kentaro Kitagawa pleaded not guilty again when his rape trial resumed in Japan on Oct. 27.
Kitagawa says the sex took place but was consensual, while the woman, identified by the pseudonym Hikari, says he raped her.
The trial first began in October 2024 and was halted after Kitagawa withdrew his initial admission of guilt.
The case concerns an alleged assault at Kitagawa’s home in 2018, after Hikari lost her memory during an office gathering.
The trial is expected to focus on whether Hikari was unable to resist and whether Kitagawa acted with criminal intent.
- Who
- Kentaro Kitagawa, a former senior Osaka prosecutor, and a woman identified by the pseudonym Hikari.
- What
- Kitagawa pleaded not guilty in a rape case, saying the sex was consensual. Hikari says he raped her.
- When
- The trial resumed on Oct. 27, 2026. The alleged assault took place in 2018.
- Where
- Japan; the alleged assault occurred at Kitagawa’s home.
- Why
- The trial is examining whether Hikari was unable to resist and whether Kitagawa acted with criminal intent.
Kentaro Kitagawa
Hikari
Consent
Kentaro Kitagawa
Kitagawa says the sex took place but was consensual.
Hikari
Hikari says Kitagawa raped her.
Ability to resist
Kentaro Kitagawa
Kitagawa denied that Hikari was unable to resist.
Hikari
Hikari said she could not resist because she was terrified she could be killed.
Hikari said she lost her memory during an office gathering and next became aware at Kitagawa’s home.
Hikari came forward with her accusation, and Kitagawa’s trial first began in October.
Kitagawa withdrew his initial admission of guilt and said the sex was consensual, halting the trial.
The trial resumed, and Kitagawa repeated his not guilty plea.
- Defendant
- Kentaro Kitagawa, former head of the Osaka District Public Prosecutor’s Office
- Accuser
- Hikari, a pseudonym used by a former prosecutor
- Alleged assault
- 2018, at Kitagawa’s home
- Trial resumed
- Oct. 27, 2026
- Trial focus
- Whether Hikari was unable to resist and whether Kitagawa acted with criminal intent
3 sources
What people are saying
I couldn’t resist because I was terrified that I could be killed.
It was like I was having a terrible nightmare.