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SUMMARY TRANSLATION OF TRANSCRIPT
June 24, 1996
At the outset, Nobuko Nobuhira speaks (appx. 30 minutes). Her comments are interpreted from Japanese to English. She repeats almost exactly her previous statements regarding three alleged incidents (bases her remarks on letter of complaint). Passing over concrete points, she talks mainly about sensational details, such as having "lost consciousness" or her "clothes having been torn to shreds. "
Note: Nobuhira refers to the Loire coffer shop, site of the second alleged incident, as "Ikeda's private tea house. "
Q&A
Q1 : Why didn't you give up or change your position of responsibility after the first incident?
A1 : Through faith, I regained my health. If I had changed my position, people have would wondered why. I would then have had to tell my family and friends about my having been raped.
Q2: Do you have any affiliation with any politicians?
A2: (Nobuhira:) No. I've talked only with my husband and my lawyer.
Q3 : Have you received judgments ordering you to repay money that you borrowed?
A3 : (Nobuhira:) No. That has nothing to do with rape. (lawyer:) She has not received [any such judgments]. (emcee: "What about your husband?") My husband has. But this has nothing to do with the present matter. Also, my husband, being a kamikaze-type person, went to court without a lawyer, and he lost. The Soka Gakkai has filed cases on as many as three occasions, but in view of the timing, it's apparent that the Soka Gakkai suddenly brought these lawsuits in order to silence me.
Q4: Is it a fact that you have not returned money that you borrowed?
A4: (Lawyer:) Neither Mrs. Nobuhira nor her husband has [reneged on debts]. (Nobuhira:) Just as the lawyer says, we have not [done any such thing].
Q5: (National Public Radio:) You have said that you have received letters from other victims of rape by Daisaku Ikeda; about how many people [claiming to be rape victims have written you]?
A5: No comment. Letters and correspondence have come to me, but I can't discuss this because of concerns over privacy.
Q6: You said [earlier] that leaders [in the Soka Gakkai] are not paid for their work. Have you ever received money from the Soka Gakkai?
A6: Not a cent. I can swear to this, and everyone knows it . . . from the very start.
Q7: Why have you filed a civil suit and not a criminal suit?
A7: (Lawyer:) A criminal investigation would be hard on my client. I have handled many rape cases. Whether to press a civil or a criminal suit is something that has to be decided on a case-by-case basis. In the present case, we have not ruled out filing a criminal suit.
Q8: Why are the major newspapers not giving your charges any coverage?
A8: (Nobuhira:) Yomiuri prints the Seikyo Shimbun, and also publishes books. There was some pressure. The same is true of Asahi.
A helpless woman has made a charge that goes against power. Ikeda's power is his money. This is money that he has collected from members. I want all the media to print the truth.
I was a top leader. (emphatically:) I know this because as a leader I made more financial contributions than anyone. Also, when Ikeda came to Hakodate, I bought fruit and writing materials for him with my own money. For women of my generation, to say that one has been raped is a great shame; therefore, I suffered and for many years could not tell my husband. Also, while people say that my husband seems very abrupt, to the members of his family he is very kind; so during that time I suffered, constantly asking myself "should I tell him today? should I tell him tomorrow?"
Q9: (Hielcher): You have said that you considered whether to file a civil suit or a criminal suit, but in reality it is only in the case of the third incident that you could file a criminal suit. And even in that incident, a lot of time has already passed. It would be extremely difficult to prove. In the case of a civil suit, the statute of limitations is only three years. Why, despite this, are you filing a civil suit?
Also, in connection with what someone asked earlier: since you remained in the Soka Gakkai as a leader for such a long time, then I expect that you probably had to see Ikeda even if you didn't want to. Moreover, you have not yet explained the reason for your making these charges now, after remaining [in the Soka Gakkai] such a long time.
A9: (Lawyer:) It is certainly the case that, in general, it is difficult to establish proof in a rape case. [Mrs. Nobuhira's having] kept this secret and the fact that much time has passed adds to the difficulty. But statues of limitations are not firmly fixed. (citing the example of a traffic accident:) In the event that the injury or harm to some one is ongoing, or that damage to them is continuing, the statute of limitations will not necessarily apply. In the case of Mrs. Nobuhira, since the issue of divorce came up, and there has been continuing psychological anguish, my position is that the statute of limitations has not expired. Also, if the other party were to make a statement like, "We recognize that the rape took place. But the statute of limitations has already passed," then the claim of would be an abuse of the application of the statute of limitations. Judgments have been handed down finding that such claims are not acceptable under all circumstances.
(Question: That's the situation regarding a civil suit. But with regard to a criminal suit, you could still file charges about the last incident. What are you going to do?)
I cannot answer because we haven't made a public statement of our position.
(Nobuhira:) The first time I was raped I was still in my forties; it was a time when I was most trusted and counted on. If I had asked to be given a less responsible position, people would definitely have wondered why. I would have had to tell my family and friends about the rape. After that, when lkeda came to Onuma, I did my best to stay away from him, and when I had to see him I always made sure to have another woman accompany me.
Q10: Unless someone is an expert at judo or some martial art, it's impossible to make someone lose consciousness without killing them. Did Ikeda know some kind of martial art?
A10: I don't know whether or not he's studied martial arts. But on one occasion he gave my husband something like a bamboo sword. He used to play piano and do all kinds of things, but I don't know whether he ever practiced the martial arts.
Q11: (An Asian reporter:) Do you have any comment about the "comfort women."
A11: (Lawyer:) I am a member of the legal team representing Philippine "comfort women." These women also remained silent for a long time. I am often asked why my client remained silent about something that happened as long as 23 years ago. When I get such a question, I often bring up the case of the "comfort women." These women were unable to talk for an even longer period. That's how difficult it is to bring rape out into the open.
(Nobuhira:) I can well understand the feelings of these women who, out of shame, were unable to talk until now.
Q12: (Kyodo:) Earlier you remarked that you thought that this faith was wonderful because you had become healthy through it, and said that you did not quit even after you had been raped because you felt that faith was important. What are your thoughts now?
A12: I have quit Soka Gakkai and am continuing as a member of Nichiren Shoshu. My husband and children also have quit Soka Gakkai.
Q13: (Hiercher:) The Soka Gakkai says that the Loire coffee shop did not exist at the time of second incident.
A13: (Lawyer:) It did exist. We have evidence.
Q14: (Hiercher:) Why did you change the dates in the letter of complaint?
A14: (1awyer:) The Soka Gakkai's claim to this effect is based on reports in the media. However, at that time we lawyers had not yet come on board, so we cannot take responsibility for every story that has come out in the media. It's not only that one article; if they present contents different from what we have here, then you should direct your questions to those media. For our part, there is no ambiguity surrounding the facts.
(Nobuhira:) The dates are just as the lawyer has said.
Q15: (Hiercher:) When was the photo that was distributed taken?
A15: (Nobuhira:) 1980... 1980...(Lawyer:) The date is not indicated, but it is a photo from around 1980-85. Its somewhere in Onuma, which was just mentioned. (Nobuhira:) It is from around 1975-85. Since it was taken by someone else and sent to me, the date is not written on the back. But it's a photo from 1975-85.
(Hiercher) Who was this photo taken by?
(Lawyer:) To protect people's privacy, I would like to request that when you use this photo you put lines over the eyes of all persons pictured except Mr. Ikeda and Mrs. Nobuhira, Mrs. Nobuhira is the third person from the left. The only man in the photo is Mr. Daisaku Ikeda.
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