Backlash Grows Over Efforts to Identify Victim in Shinji Saito Case as She Describes Ordeal as Humiliating

It was truly disgusting and humiliating

The second trial of Shinji Saito (43), a former member of “Jungle Pocket,” who is charged with non-consensual sexual intercourse and indecent assault, was held at the Tokyo District Court on March 17. During the proceedings, the victim, referred to as Ms. A, gave vivid and disturbing testimony.

Ms. A appeared via video link from a separate room. She first met Saito during a TV program shoot in July 2024. According to her, while they were alone in the location bus before entering the second venue that morning, Saito said things like, “You’re cute,” and “Have you ever gone drinking with comedians?” Then, he suddenly touched her cheek and kissed her.

Recalling the moment, she said, “Kissing me during work in the morning… I was scared and thought, what kind of person does that? Something is wrong.”

Before entering the third location, still inside the bus, she was subjected to deep kissing and had her chest touched. Eventually, she stated that he forcibly put his genitals into her mouth.

“I froze and gagged twice. It was truly disgusting and humiliating.”

As for why she did not resist further, she explained that she feared the shoot would be canceled and noted that the defendant belonged to a major agency.

“I thought if I made him angry, I didn’t know what he might do. I was also worried it could affect my future work.”

Currently, Ms. A has developed PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and suffers from ongoing fear. She is on leave from work.

After the incident, Saito, through his legal representative, offered a settlement of approximately 25 million yen. The conditions included that she would not seek punishment and that he could continue his entertainment career.

Regarding the settlement, Ms. A stated, “I intend to refuse. I did consider accepting it to support myself since I couldn’t work, but after seeing his attitude at the first trial and how he hasn’t admitted guilt or shown remorse, I cannot agree to a settlement.”

She added, “I want him to acknowledge his crime and show genuine remorse. I am seeking a prison sentence.”

Saito, however, continues to deny the charges, claiming, “I believed there was consent.”

If a settlement is not reached, a prison sentence is possible

The charge of non-consensual sexual intercourse, which Shinji Saito faces, is a relatively new offense that replaced the former crimes of rape and forcible sexual intercourse. It applies when sexual acts are carried out without the other person’s consent. Following legal revisions in 2023, the age of consent was raised to 16, and the scope of punishable acts was expanded by easing the requirements for establishing the crime.

A key point is the legal criteria: even if there is no physical resistance, the crime can still be established if there is a power imbalance between the parties and the victim is in a situation where resistance is difficult.

A legal expert commented:
“In this case, Saito was in the superior position. Ms. A claims she could not resist because she was worried about her future work. If that is accepted, his argument that ‘I believed there was consent’ is unlikely to hold. If no settlement is reached, a prison sentence would not be surprising.”

Details of Saito’s actions revealed in court have also led to troubling secondary developments. There were reports that attempts were made to identify the victim, whose identity remains undisclosed.

According to a comedy industry insider:
“There were efforts to figure out who Ms. A was, and her photos were actually shared among comedians. People would say things like ‘It’s this girl!’ while drinking. Since it was right after the arrest, some comedians even defended Saito. It spread quite widely, from well-known entertainers to lesser-known ones.”

On social media as well, attempts to identify the victim have been widespread. Such actions severely damage the victim’s dignity, and in some cases, unrelated women have been mistakenly identified and exposed online.

The same legal expert warned:
“In the age of social media, this kind of witch-hunt behavior keeps happening. It only causes further harm to the victim.”

The trial is expected to conclude as early as April, with a first verdict possibly delivered in June. One can only hope that peace returns to the victim as soon as possible.