A court in Japan convicts three former soldiers in groundbreaking sexual assault case

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court has convicted three former soldiers in a sexual assault case that authorities had dropped until the victim came forward demanding a reinvestigation and prompting a military-wide harassment probe. The court sentenced them to two years in prison but suspended the sentences for four years, meaning they won’t actually serve time. Still, the ruling is a rare victory in a country that consistently ranks near the bottom in international gender equality surveys and where sexual misconduct complaints are often disregarded. The former service member who filed the case hopes that will change.