The US State Department has chosen a Japanese woman among this year's recipients of the International Women of Courage Award.

Officials on Friday announced 12 women to receive the award, including a former member of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force, Gonoi Rina.

Gonoi went public under her own name after suffering sexual harassment and abuse within her unit.

The state department said Gonoi "launched a public campaign that thrust sexual harassment and accountability into the national discourse and shined a light on an otherwise taboo subject in traditional Japanese society."

It also said, "Her bravery to take on social norms emboldened countless survivors of abuse to come forward with their own stories so that they no longer suffered in silence."

The department noted that Gonoi's action prompted the GSDF to increase efforts to build a more secure workplace for its members, regardless their genders.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and First Lady Jill Biden are expected to host the awards ceremony to be held at the White House on Monday.