Two Japanese soldiers sue for alleged power harassment

Two men, including a lieutenant junior grade officer, belonging to Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Base Service Activity Yokosuka, filed a lawsuit seeking 10 million yen and $76,000 in damages against the government for being wrongly arrested after filing a power harassment complaint with the Defense Ministry.

The lieutenant in his 40s and a former petty officer in his 20s working at Japan Self-Defense Forces JSDF Hospital Yokosuka announced on February 3 they filed a lawsuit with the Yokohama District Court in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture.

According to the complaint and other sources, the lieutenant who was at the hospital at the time was consulted by his subordinate, the former petty officer planning to retire, about being subject to power harassment by another superior, a male chief petty officer. The ex-petty officer had been ordered to be more on duty than his colleagues and was told things such as "The next job is too much for you." You can cover up power harassment if you cancel your resignation. In addition to the former petty officer, the lieutenant had been consulted by three others about being subjected to power harassment by the same chief petty officer. The lieutenant submitted a written petition and a response to the Chief requesting that disciplinary action be taken against him, and submitted them to the Maritime Staff Office and the Headquarters Yokosuka District around early February 2022.

The lieutenant and the ex-petty officer were arrested on Sept. 27, 2022, by the police unit, an investigative agency within the JSDF, on suspicion of filing a false complaint. The Yokohama District Public Prosecutors Office dropped the case on Nov. 30 because of lack of evidence, and released two days later.

We were arrested without being questioned first, according to the lieutenant. I was ordered to transfer and I have not been given a job on the day of the arrest. I can only think that it is an act of retaliation against my accusation. The petty officer, who retired in January 2022, complained: We want to know why we were arrested. The Ministry of Defense said on February 6, once we receive the complaint, we will review it with the appropriate authorities and take appropriate action.