Does Matsuchan Truly Hold an Overwhelming Advantage? Matsumoto Hitoshi’s Early Misstep in the vs. Bunshun Situation

“The situation overwhelmingly favors Matsumoto,”

 tweeted Katsuya Takasu, who identifies himself as a supporter of Downtown’s Matsumoto Hitoshi, on X (formerly Twitter). 

“If I were a juror, I would immediately judge in favor of Matsumoto. I hope we don’t get a ridiculous judge,”

Takasu continued,  reflecting on the first oral argument between Matsumoto and Bungeishunju scheduled for March 28th.

Matsumoto was hit with allegations by Bungeishunju at the end of last year, accusing him of coercing sexual acts against a person identified as “A” at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo.

Even after the new year, Bungeishunju has continued its pursuit, with a total of 11 people testifying so far.

On the other hand, Matsumoto suspended his entertainment activities on January 8th to focus on the trial. On the 22nd of the same month, he filed a lawsuit against Bunshun, seeking 550 million yen in compensation, stating,

“I have suffered indescribable mental damage.”

His representative lawyer commented,

“We want to clearly assert and demonstrate that there are no facts of sexual acts or coercion as reported in the article, and there are no facts that even remotely correspond to sexual aggression.”

And we are commenting,

 

 

 Furthermore, pin comedian Tamura Kenji, explicitly referred to as an attending comedian, along with comedy duo Crossbar Direct Hit member Watanabe Sense, completely denied the tribute system to Matsumoto written in Bunshun. Sexy actress Shimotsuki Runa also joined in, appealing to the sloppy nature of Bunshun’s coverage on social media.

 

“Indeed, since Tamuken and Shimotsuki actively started communicating, it seems the tide has turned. Voices warning about Bunshun’s influence on the level of state power have also increased,” said a television station insider.

 

But is it truly advantageous for Matsuchan, as Mr. Takasu at the beginning stated?

 

What’s crucial is that the court is not a law enforcement agency like the police or prosecution, making it difficult to definitively determine if there were criminal acts such as sexual aggression.

 

Moreover, this time, it’s a he-said, she-said situation between Matsumoto and A in a closed room. There’s a high possibility of it becoming a debate of did versus didn’t.

 

Furthermore, in a defamation lawsuit, the focus isn’t on whether there was sexual aggression but rather on whether the information presented is worthy of belief as truth. This means Bunshun’s thoroughness in its reporting will be scrutinized.

 

“Bunshun’s strategy seems to be gathering similar testimonies regarding what happened in the closed room to enhance credibility. On the other hand, it’s unclear what legal strategy Matsumoto’s side is devising as they remain silent.

 

Matsumoto’s argument alone is honestly tough. Testimonies from ‘Speedwagon’ Kazuhiro Ozawa, who was present at the scene, and a testimony from a television writer known as Mr. X, will likely become indispensable,” said a legal source.

 

However, Matsumoto has dug himself a big grave in the early stages of the controversy.

 

At the beginning of the year, Matsumoto quoted the “thank you LINE” from A reported in ‘Weekly Woman PRIME’ and posted on X,

 

“It’s finally out.”

 

“To Matsumoto, he probably intended to show the world that ‘it’s strange for A, who is claiming to be a victim, to send a message of gratitude.’ However, in cases of sexual aggression, it’s common for victims to send messages of compliance to their perpetrators to get through the situation. Furthermore, the part of A’s LINE, published in Weekly Woman, where Kazuhiro, who held her phone, sent ‘alibi’ messages to A’s LINE to conceal such facts, was omitted. It’s interpreted as perplexing that A did not reply to the alibi message and suddenly sent a thank you LINE the next day,” said a sports journalist.

 

A also plans to submit a victim report LINE sent to a friend immediately after the drinking party as evidence. Regarding this,

 

“There is a possibility that the court will adopt it as important evidence,” said the aforementioned legal source.

 

Ahead of the first oral argument, Matsumoto made a rare comment on the 25th. In it,

 

“The truth will be conveyed to the world, and I want to return to comedy as soon as possible,” 

 

He reiterated his claim of Bunshun’s false reporting. It would be desirable for him to follow through on his words for the sake of fans waiting for his return, but whether he will indeed do so remains to be seen.