A Japanese prosecutor who publicly accused her boss of rape said Tuesday she will resign after her office rejected a request for an independent probe into harassment within the organization.
Very few women in Japan speak out about sexual assault, but the prosecutor, who uses the pseudonym Hikari, came forward in 2024 to accuse Osaka’s then-top prosecutor of raping her six years earlier.
Kentaro Kitagawa, who retired after serving as head of the Osaka District Public Prosecutor’s Office, was arrested and admitted the assault but later withdrew his statement, saying the sex was consensual.
