ANA Captain Jailed for Sexually Assaulting Cabin Attendant

Tokyo, July 14 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo District Court on Tuesday sentenced a captain of All Nippon Airways to one year and eight months in prison for grabbing the buttocks of a female flight attendant. Judge Takao Okawa said that the defendant, Ryota Mise, 44, committed a “despicable” sexual assault that abused his position as captain. The judge dismissed Mise’s claim of innocence. Prosecutors had sought a prison term of two years and six months. The woman testified that she was grabbed by the buttocks multiple times on a street and in a convenience store by Mise, whom she had met for the first time on the previous day’s flight, after a group meal. The judge found her testimony “convincing and highly credible.” In response to the defendant’s claim that he thought that he had built trust at the group meal and therefore believed it was permissible to touch the woman’s buttocks for mischief, the court concluded that the defendant could not avoid a prison sentence. “He made an unreasonable excuse and lacks an attitude of sincere remorse,” the judge said. In a statement presented during the trial, the woman said she could not escape because she did not know what would happen if she resisted. She also said that she could not understand why the captain was trying to defend himself, even to the extent of lying. According to the ruling, the defendant committed indecent acts, including touching the woman’s buttocks, on a street in the city of Takamatsu in the western Japan prefecture of Kagawa before dawn on Oct. 10, 2023, making her fear that he might use his influence as a captain to cause her disadvantages at work. ANA has said that it takes the ruling seriously and will continue to take thorough measures to prevent a recurrence. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]