Prosecutors are likely to drop a sexual assault case against midfielder Junya Ito, who was accused of having sex with two women who were too drunk to consent in an Osaka hotel in June 2023.
Osaka police, who transferred the case to the Public Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday, suspect that the two women who filed criminal complaints against Ito did so based on false or inaccurate statements, sources said.
In January, the two women filed a complaint with police, alleging that Ito, 31, who plays for French club Stade de Reims, sexually assaulted them after getting them drunk and they were unable to resist. Ito has since filed a separate criminal complaint, insisting the sexual acts were consensual and that he had evidence to prove the allegations were false.
Ito, who married in 2021, rose to fame during the 2022 World Cup. He left the Japan national team in February after Daily Shincho reported on the sexual abuse allegations in January.
