Shiori Itō

While interning at Thomson Reuters, Itō was at an izakaya in Ebisu, Shibuya with Noriyuki Yamaguchi, a prominent TV journalist and acquaintance of then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.[10] Itaru Nakamura, a close confidant of both Prime Minister Abe and Yamaguchi and acting chief of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Investigative Division at the time, admitted in the weekly magazine Shukan Shincho to have halted the probe and arrest warrant.[11] Ito subsequently filed a complaint with Committee for the Inquest of Prosecution, but a September 2017 ruling did not charge Yamaguchi since "there was no common law basis to overturn.[10][12] Yamaguchi denied the charges and filed a countersuit, seeking ¥130 million (US$1,180,000) in compensation, claiming the incident was consensual and the ensuing accusations has damaged his reputation,[10] although that suit was later turned down due to inconsistencies in his testimony.This ruling has garnered international press due to the lack of reported sexual assaults in Japan and the amount of societal and legal obstacles Itō had to endure for speaking up.The court also ordered Itō to pay 550,000 yen to Yamaguchi for damages for defaming him by claiming in her book accusing him of giving her a date rape drug with no evidence.[18] The lawsuit described some 25 defamatory tweets against Itō that Sugita interacted with, which included "botched attempt at obtaining work/job through sexual advances",[a] "honey trap", and "publicity stunt".[20] The lawsuit was originally dismissed by the Tokyo District Court, which excused the lawmaker's actions by opining that a "like" was not necessarily a statement of support, as users may merely employ the tool as a sort of "bookmark".