A former head of the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office accused of raping a drunk female subordinate in 2018 changed his plea to not guilty, his new chief defense counsel said Tuesday, about a month after the trial's first hearing.

Kentaro Kitagawa, 65, had said he would "not contest" the allegations in the first hearing at the Osaka District Court on Oct. 25. He is accused of raping the woman while he was chief public prosecutor at his official Osaka residence in September 2018, when she was drunk and unable to resist.

But the counsel, Kazuhiro Nakamura, said at a press conference that the defendant was not aware the woman was unable to resist and believed there was consent.

"There was no intention to commit a crime, and he is innocent," Nakamura said. His remarks came after the defense conveyed its intention to change Kitagawa's plea in a closed-door meeting with the district court judge and prosecutors.

"How far does he intend to taunt me? It saddens me that a former top prosecutor has no intention of atoning for his crime, and as a prosecutor it is shameful," the subordinate prosecutor said in a statement read out by her lawyer.

She plans to hold a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Nakamura said Kitagawa initially accepted the accusations because he did not want to cause difficulties for relevant parties and prosecutors.

But he said Kitagawa had begun to see his position as a mistake that had fueled criticism of his peers, after the woman said at a press conference held after the first hearing that prosecutors had leaked information on the investigation to Kitagawa's defense.

Kitagawa's lead defense counsel changed after the first hearing, according to the district court. A second public hearing set for Tuesday has been canceled, with the defendant expected to plead not guilty at the next hearing.