GUNMA (TR) – A court here has acquitted a former Olympic torch bearer who had been accused of raping a female acquaintance at a hotel two years ago, reports the TBS News (Mar. 2).
On Monday, the Maebashi District Court found Takayuki Ueno, the 53-year-old head of a volunteer reconstruction group based in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, to be innocent of non-consensual sexual intercourse.
According to the indictment, Ueno was alleged to have sexually assaulted the female acquaintance, aged in her 20s, at the business hotel in Ota City on July 18, 2024. Prior to the incident, he frightened her by saying, “Let me touch you.”
The prosecution had requested a six-year prison sentence. Meanwhile, the defense argued that the woman had consented.
In handing down the ruling, presiding judge Masayuki Takahashi said, “The woman had the option of not going to the defendant’s room.”
The judge added, “The woman’s statement that she did not expect sexual intercourse to occur was unnatural.”
Immediately after the verdict, the defense revealed that it had filed a complaint against the woman with the Public Prosecutor’s Office on suspicion of making a false accusation.
Meanwhile, the prosecution stated, “We intend to thoroughly examine the contents of the verdict and, after consulting with higher authorities, take appropriate action.”
2021 Olympic Games
Gunma Prefectural Police arrested Ueno in October 2024. The woman had filed a complaint in August. Ueno denied the charges at the time of his arrest, claiming that the encounter was consensual.
Ueno lost two children and his parents in the Great East Japan Earthquake. He formed the reconstruction group with the aim of revitalizing disaster-stricken areas. As a result, he has appeared in a number of documentary films.
Ueno also served as a torchbearer for the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
