Cases similar to Lions star Yamakawa's resulted in settlements, not jail time

TOKYO — I read with interest the recent report about Hotaka Yamakawa, the slugging infielder of the Saitama Seibu Lions and member of the WBC championship team for 2023, who was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department on suspicion of sexually assaulting a female acquaintance, in a case that has been sent to the public prosecutor.

Yamakawa, 31, is suspected of sexually assaulting the woman, an acquaintance in her 20s, at a hotel in Minato-ku, Tokyo, last November. The woman reported the attack to the Metropolitan Police Department in May this year and the incident was recently written up in the Shukan Bunshun weekly magazine.