OSAKA (TR) – A female prosecutor currently at the center of a high-profile sexual assault case against her former boss has blown the whistle on rampant power harassment and investigative manipulation within the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office, report Fuji News Network (Aug. 4).
During a recent press conference, the woman — who is the alleged victim of accused former Osaka Chief Prosecutor Kentaro Kitagawa — read aloud a written account from a former male colleague. The memo detailed severe workplace bullying within the office’s elite Special Investigation Department.
According to the former male prosecutor’s notes, a senior prosecutor routinely verbally abused him, calling him “useless” and a “piece of junk.” More alarmingly, the victim alleged he was coerced into drafting official investigative statements tailored specifically to fit the senior prosecutor’s predetermined narrative of a case.
Despite formal complaints being raised regarding the abuse and manipulation, the accused senior prosecutor was allowed to quietly resign without facing any disciplinary action, the woman revealed.
The explosive allegations come amid a seemingly endless wave of scandals plaguing Japan’s prosecution. In July, a male prosecutor in the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office’s Special Investigation Department was unceremoniously fired after it was discovered he had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with an investigation target. Other recent embarrassments include the leakage of sensitive investigative information to outside parties.
Criticizing the organization’s ongoing culture of secrecy and cover-ups, the female prosecutor warned that the department’s internal investigations alone would never uncover the whole truth, calling them completely meaningless.” She once again called for the establishment of a third-party committee independent of the justice and prosecution authorities.
