Former Attorney General arrested for raping colleague in Osaka

A former head of the Osaka District Public Prosecutors’ Office was arrested on suspicion of raping a subordinate while drunk, the Osaka Chief Public Prosecutors’ Office said on Tuesday.

Kentaro Kitagawa. (Kyodo)

Kentaro Kitagawa, a 64-year-old lawyer, is accused of raping the woman at his official residence in Osaka while serving as attorney general from February 2018 to November 2019, according to investigative sources.

The Osaka Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which is under the district prosecutor’s office, declined to disclose details of the case to protect the victim’s privacy. They would not say when the alleged rape took place or whether Kitagawa had admitted to the charges.

It is believed that Kitagawa and the victim were alone at his official residence at the time.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Tsunekazu Kobashi, deputy prosecutor at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, expressed deep regret over the arrest, adding: “We will thoroughly investigate the case and consider what punishment should be imposed.”

Kitagawa is from Ishikawa Prefecture and became a prosecutor in 1985. He also served as deputy prosecutor at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and as head of criminal investigations at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.

After his retirement, Kitagawa registered as a lawyer and is a member of the Osaka Bar Association.

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