Sexual Assault Victim Sued by Wife of Abuser for Marital Infidelity in Japan

Meiko Sano sued her professor, Michio Hayashi, who allegedly took advantage of their dynamic to begin a relationship with her. However, the sexual assault victim was also sued by Hayashi’s wife for marital infidelity.

Meiko Sano, 38, filed a lawsuit against Michio Hayashi, her art history professor at Sophia University. The sexual assault victim accused Hayashi of taking advantage of their dynamic to begin a relationship she never consented.

According to Aitken, the relationship between Sano and Hayashi began when the sexual assault victim was 23 and the abuser was 48. Sano accused the professor of grooming her for sex before finally ending her decade-long relationship with him.

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Sexual Assault Victim Sued

However, an article in The New York Times stated that the sexual assault victim was also sued by Hayashi’s wife for their relationship. This is because Japan’s civil code apparently counts marital infidelity as a breach of a marriage contract.

In the end, Sano lost the sexual assault lawsuit and Hayashi’s wife won almost $20,000 in damages. Nonetheless, Sano still won some minor damages to help settle her penalties to the wife. Sano claimed in subsequent interviews that she knew the lawsuit only had a small chance to succeed. However, she had the determination to reveal how psychological abuse remains silenced in the society of Japan.

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