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Hikari Ota, 55, from the Japanese comedy duo Bakusho Mondai, has won a defamation suit against the weekly magazine Shukan Shincho.
The tabloid magazine published a story claiming that Ota bribed his way into the Department of Fine Arts at Nihon University.
According to the popular comedian, the accusation printed in Shukan Shincho was a defamation of character, and he sued the publisher Shinchosha Co Ltd for their reporting. The Tokyo District Court ruled in Ota's favor on Monday, Fuji TV reported, and ordered the publisher to pay compensation for damages and delete the online article.
Ota had initially sought about 33 million yen from Shinchosha and requested an apology be published in its publication. Although the court found the defendant guilty of defamation, the publisher was ordered to pay only 4.4 million yen and remove the online story.
Shukan Shincho published the defamatory article in its special summer issue in August 2018. It was titled "Bakusho Mondai's Hikaru Ota Is Doted on by His Father With Backdoor Admission to Nihon University."
Following the ruling, Shinchosha publicly stated, "We regret the court's decision. We will file an appeal and prove the truth behind the story."
© Japan Today
10 Comments
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OssanAmerica
If they can prove it on appeal why didn't they do so at the trial? And if they couldn't prove it then, on what credibility did they publish the subject article? Media has a responsibility to report accurately, not prioritize "scoops" and "sales".
Ascissor
Did they forget to say "allegedly"?
garymalmgren
I hope after the appeal he gets the compensation bumped up to a reasonable amount.
Payment of 4.4 million yen is neither punishment nor deterant.
gary
Abbey
33,000,000 ! Bit steep, isnt it !
Just take the 4.000.000 , apology and move on.
Sh1mon M4sada
barely covers his legals ...
noriahojanen
It's not unusual in Japan's civil court. Though I'm not sure where this customary originates, the plaintiff side usually demands a compensation amounting to about ten times as large as one they actually seek.
The district court now ordered a 4.4 million yen payment, down from the 33 million request, but slightly larger than the estimated amount (or 3.3 min). The verdict can be interpreted as a full victory for Mr Ota. I assume that the higher/appeals court will uphold the decision.
Fighto!
¥4.4 million is a very small amount of damages to be honest. Shukan Shincho is likely satisfied with the result.
bokuda
2 years of appeals.
Such a nightmare, 4M¥ is not covering
kaimycahl
it will cost that much just to get lawyers and go through the appeal process.