Osaka, Oct. 27 (Jiji Press)–A former head of the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office, charged with sexually assaulting a female subordinate, pleaded not guilty in his second court hearing at Osaka District Court on Tuesday. Defendant Kentaro Kitagawa, 67, switched to denying the charge of constructive forcible sexual intercourse despite admitting to it in the first hearing. The focus of the trial, which resumed after a two-year hiatus, will shift to whether the woman was unable to resist the assault and whether Kitagawa acted with criminal intent. “I admit to the fact that I engaged in sexual intercourse, but I dispute that the alleged victim was unable to resist,” Kitagawa told the court. In their opening statement, the prosecution said that the woman staggered when leaving a restaurant, entered a taxi in a drunken state while being supported by Kitagawa, and went to his home in housing for public servants. The defense argued that the woman had lost objective evidence, given that she reported the incident five and a half years later. She did not feel afraid of the defendant or feel intimidated through their exchanges at the restaurant, the defense added. In his first hearing in October 2024, Kitagawa said he would not contest the charge and expressed “deep regret for having caused serious harm.” But a defense lawyer appointed after the hearing said at a press conference in December that year that the defense would seek an acquittal on the grounds that Kitagawa believed the woman had given consent and therefore had no criminal intent. As a result, hearings were put on hold while the court held closed-door proceedings to examine the evidence and clarify the issues in dispute. The court is expected to deliver its ruling on March 12, 2027, following the woman’s testimony and other proceedings. According to the indictment and information obtained elsewhere, Kitagawa sexually assaulted the female prosecutor at his then home in the public servants’ housing in the city of Osaka between late on Sept. 12, 2018, and the early hours of the following day, when she was intoxicated and unable to resist because she feared what her superior might do. Prosecutors said that Kitagawa attended a social gathering with the woman, got into a taxi with her while she was heavily intoxicated and took her to his home. The indictment was revised in 2025 to add the allegation that the defendant had exploited his position as her superior. The woman resigned as a prosecutor at the end of August this year. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
