Tokyo, Oct. 29 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo District Court on Thursday ordered a city assembly member from Kofu in Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo, to pay 1.1 million yen in damages to Taiwan-born author Li Kotomi over a privacy violation related to the disclosure that she was transgender. Presiding Judge Yohei Motomura found that the assembly member, Hiromi Muramatsu, had unlawfully violated the author’s privacy. Li, winner of Japan’s prestigious Akutagawa Prize who goes by the pen name, had sought 5.5 million yen in damages and other compensation. According to the ruling and other sources, Muramatsu posted comments about Li on social media in May 2024, including that she had a male body. The assembly member also posted a photograph of Li taken when she was a minor, before her gender transition, as well as her legal name. Li and Muramatsu had never met, the sources said. Motomura stressed that the information disclosed in the posts should have remained confidential, noting that it is “closely related to the plaintiff’s physical sex and gender identity” and that “there was no reasonable justification for making it public.” “I don’t really feel happiness or joy, and I think it is strange that the trial was necessary,” Li told a news conference after the ruling, adding that she hopes Muramatsu will sincerely reflect on what she did. Meanwhile, Muramatsu said in a statement that she would decide on her next steps after consulting with her lawyer. Li won the Akutagawa Prize in 2021 for her novel “The Island Where Red Spider Lilies Bloom.” She publicly announced that she was transgender in November 2024, citing defamatory and abusive remarks from numerous people regarding her gender. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
