Japanese Prosecutor Resigns after Alleged Assault by Her Boss

Osaka, May 1 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese female prosecutor who was allegedly sexually assaulted by her male boss in 2018 submitted a resignation letter to her office in Osaka on Thursday. The prosecution did not give any concrete response to her request for setting up a third-party committee to investigate possible harassment among prosecutors nationwide, the woman told a press conference. After the incident, she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and took a leave of absence. “I can’t stand anymore,” the woman said. “I couldn’t help but submit the resignation letter because I wanted to be released from a living hell.” “I’d never thought about quitting my job as a prosecutor. It was my reason for living,” she said. Kentaro Kitagawa, 66-year-old former head of the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office, admitted the assault on the woman in the first hearing of his trial in October 2024 but later pleaded not guilty. The woman also said that she has asked for a review by a committee for the inquest of prosecution of a decision in March last year not to indict another female prosecutor accused of slandering the woman. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]