Kodansha Ordered to Pay Damages to Comedian over Defamatory Reports

Tokyo, Nov. 25 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese court on Monday ordered publisher Kodansha Ltd. and the chief editor of its weekly magazine Friday to pay 2.2 million yen in damages to a comedian over defamatory reporting. The comedian, Sense Watanabe, had sued Kodansha and the editor, claiming that a series of articles by the magazine harmed his reputation. Tokyo District Court found that the Friday reported between January and April 2024 that Watanabe had asked an acquaintance to invite women to a party hosted by another comedian, Hitoshi Matsumoto, at a hotel in October 2018. Presiding Judge Katsuhiro Kasai ruled that the articles defamed Watanabe, saying that their “key claims were neither proven true nor based on reasonable grounds to be believed as true.” Kasai said the articles gave an impression that Watanabe acted as someone who arranged women for Matsumoto for sexual purposes, damaging his social reputation. The judge said there was no evidence corroborating the acquaintance’s account and no indication that Watanabe or his talent agency had been interviewed about the allegations. “This is a complete victory,” Watanabe told reporters after the ruling. “If this prevents similar things from happening in the future, then (filing the lawsuit was) worth it.” The Friday editorial department said it regretted the ruling, adding that it would examine the decision and consider its response, including a possible appeal. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]