GSDF Member’s Harassment-Caused PTSD Recognized as On-Duty Illness

Sendai, Miyagi Pref., June 23 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force member revealed Tuesday that his posttraumatic stress disorder, caused by harassment by senior colleagues at a GSDF camp in Miyagi Prefecture, has been recognized as an on-duty illness. At a press conference in Sendai, the capital of the northeastern Japan prefecture, the man, who is in his 30s, said that the decision was made by the commanding general of the GSDF’s Northeastern Army on Thursday. Since joining the Self-Defense Forces in 2006, the male member had been forced by several senior colleagues to wear women’s clothing and to expose his lower body, according to him. He was diagnosed with adjustment disorder and PTSD at an SDF hospital in 2023 and 2024, and has repeatedly taken leaves of absence and been hospitalized. The decision “is extremely meaningful, especially to those suffering under similar circumstances,” he said. Regarding the case, the GSDF member has filed a lawsuit with Sendai District Court, demanding the central government and others pay him some 10 million yen in damages. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]