<figure id="attachment_359670" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-359670" style="width: 576px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="494fad93"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/211b0ef43d757e7e86537b0ca8a99e94.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-359670" class="wp-caption-text">Finally, &#8220;Downtown&#8221; Hitoshi Matsumoto is going on trial in March. What will he say in court? &#8230;&#8230;</figcaption></figure>
 The first oral argument in the lawsuit filed by &#8220;Downtown&#8221; Hitoshi Matsumoto against the publisher Bungei Shunju and the editor-in-chief of &#8220;Weekly Bunshun&#8221; for damages of 550 million yen for defamation caused by a report in the magazine will be held at the Tokyo District Court on March 28.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 Last December, Shukan Bunshun reported that Matsumoto had forced multiple women to engage in sexual acts with him. This year, it has reported a series of scandals.
 In response, Matsumoto filed a lawsuit against Bungei Shunju and others. He suspended his entertainment activities on August 8 to concentrate on his own court case.
 Matsumoto claims that he has suffered psychological damage &#8220;beyond description. The lawyer representing him said
 &#8220;At the trial, I will clearly argue and prove that there is no fact that constitutes &#8216;sexual assault.
 The lawyer for the client commented, &#8220;I would like to clearly argue and prove that there is no such thing as &#8216;sexual assault&#8217; at trial.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 On the other hand, the editorial department of Shukan Bunshun commented
 The editorial department of Shukan Bunshun, on the other hand, stated, &#8220;We will not be deterred by the lawsuit, and if there are matters that need to be reported, we will continue to report them as we have in the past.
 In the past, Shintaro Katsu had made the following statement: &#8220;We will not shrink from reporting the lawsuit.
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" In the past, Shintaro Katsu put on a courtroom show..."></div>
Since the complaint was not received by the editorial office of Bunshun, some have asked
 &#8220;The lawsuit was cancelled?&#8221;
 However, this was never the case.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 However, this was not the case at all. Yoshimoto Kogyo and Bunshun had their own channels, and there was a time when they were trying to find a way to settle the case, but Matsumoto himself has not lost his stance of making it black and white.
 In a normal defamation case, the first oral argument lasts only a few minutes and ends with an exchange of arguments between the representatives. From there, the points of contention become clearer as the proceedings progress, and it is expected that the Bunshun side will eventually ask Matsumoto to appear as a witness, and the Matsumoto side will ask the accused woman to appear as a witness.
 If they appear as witnesses, they will first be asked their names and occupations, and they will swear under oath that they will speak without lying. After that, the plaintiff&#8217;s attorney will ask questions, and the defendant&#8217;s attorney will pursue the case.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 In preparation for his appearance as a witness, Mr. Matsumoto is supposed to repeat a mock practice session with his attorney. No matter how much he has appeared on TV, the tension in the courtroom is something else entirely. Some of them are drenched in sweat and their minds go blank.
 Young comedians are frustrated by this situation.
 Matsumoto-san is the funniest person in Japan. He comes out in the most uninteresting places. To be honest, I don&#8217;t want to see Matsumoto-san being pursued in court.
 Shintaro Katsu, the great Showa-era star who was arrested for cocaine possession in 1991, entered the courtroom wearing a ten-gallon hat and, when questioned by the prosecutors, looked at the audience and said, &#8220;Is that so?
 Is that so?&#8221;
 He called the bystanders &#8220;guests,&#8221; carefully prepared a script, and put on a show in the courtroom.
 Even against Matsumoto, Daisuke Muramoto of &#8220;Woman Rush Hour&#8221; said in X
 If there is anything that comedians believe about Matsumoto san, it is that he will make them laugh in his own way at the end. I mean, I do.
 But it was not in the mood to be funny.
 In the first place, Ms. Matsumoto&#8217;s case is about whether or not she was &#8220;sexually assaulted,&#8221; and it is a very serious trial. The media will be reporting on the case in real time, and there will be people who will be disillusioned every time a graphic testimony comes out. For Matsumoto, who has always thought of interesting things to say, I think this is the worst place for him to be.
 As one of the young comedians mentioned above said, Matsumoto will be exposed to the public in his most &#8220;uninteresting&#8221; form.
 The trial will be a long battle, and if it goes all the way to the Supreme Court, &#8220;it will take three years,&#8221; said a legal official.
 If it goes all the way to the Supreme Court, it will take three years.
 Matsumoto cannot lower his fist, but it will be a hard fight for him.

 Ippei Hara

 Downtown's Matsumoto Hitoshi's trial with Bunshun will finally begin in March. Since he has not held a press conference and suspended his entertainment activities almost silently, it will be interesting to see what he will say in court. ......

Hitoshi Matsumoto, &#8220;the funniest guy in Japan,&#8221; is in the &#8220;most uninteresting&#8221; courtroom&#8230; &#8220;I don&#8217;t want to see it,&#8221; says a young comedian, upsetting the audience.

Hitoshi Matsumoto, “the funniest guy in Japan,” is in the “most uninteresting” courtroom… “I don’t want to see it,” says a young comedian, upsetting the audience.

Access Ranking