100 Million Yen Settlement Amount Demanded? Why Seibu Yamakawa, who was sent to prison on charges of forcible sexual intercourse, refuses to change his statement that “there was a consent”?

‘Definitely not someone who would come in here by force.’

Seibu infielder Hotaka Yamakawa, 31, who represented Japan in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March, was referred to the Azabu Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department on March 23 on a charge of forcible sexual intercourse. The police did not issue a “severe disposition,” which would have required prosecution, but rather an “appropriate disposition,” leaving the decision to the prosecutors.

Yamakawa is alleged to have sexually assaulted a female acquaintance in her 20s at a hotel in Minato Ward, Tokyo, last November. On the same day, Seibu announced, “We have confirmed the fact that he has been referred to prosecutors. It is truly regrettable that a player of our team has been sent to prosecution. We sincerely apologize for the concern this has caused to our fans and everyone concerned. Yamakawa, who is in the middle of the controversy, denied the charges in response to a voluntary interview, saying that he had an agreement with the players. He was practicing at the team’s facility in Tokorozawa City on the day of the incident, and there is no indication that he has been suspended from his home or otherwise punished by the team. The focus will now be on whether or not there was an “agreement” between the two players.

According to a reporter from the society section of a national newspaper, “Settlement negotiations were held before the case was sent to prosecutors, but the victim’s side offered a settlement of 100 million yen, which is several dozen times the market price. It seems as if the victim was so strongly motivated by feelings of punishment that he did not consider settling the case from the outset.

The foreplay was extremely intense.”

On the other hand, Yamakawa’s side has not changed its claim that there was an agreement, and there is a reason why the team has continued to deal with the case in a seemingly lenient manner, only deleting him from the first team roster and allowing him to practice in a uniform.

There is no doubt that Yamakawa, despite having a wife and child, has been sloppy with women. There were more than one or two other people with whom he had relationships. However, one of the women with whom he actually had a relationship says that Yamakawa is ‘not a person who would ever force himself on her,'” said an acquaintance who has been in the same room with Yamakawa at many drinking parties.

A reporter from the Social Affairs Department also commented , “It is unusual for the police to give the prosecution an opinion of ‘appropriate punishment’ for forced sexual intercourse, which used to be a crime of ‘rape,’ rather than ‘severe punishment’ for prosecution. It is likely that they did not have enough evidence to discern whether or not there was consent.

A former acquaintance commented on the change of the charge from indecent assault to forcible sexual intercourse : “Yamakawa is naturally very strong, and the woman with whom he had relations said, ‘The foreplay was extremely intense. Maybe he didn’t trim his fingernails and damaged the woman’s body,” he said.

The many foolish acts he has committed to satisfy his own desires despite his position with his wife and children should be condemned and punished. On the other hand, Yamakawa seems to have a non-negotiable line of argument.