High School YouTuber Yutabon Withdraws Defamation Lawsuit Over Mistaken Identity

Although the ‘wrongful accusation’ has been cleared.

Attorney Katsunari Fukunaga, representing Yutabon, stated,

“We did everything we could with the information available, and as a result, we filed the lawsuit against the current defendant (Mr. Honma) as the source. There’s no way to confirm anything beyond that. It’s rare for many people to share the same mobile phone number, and when that happens, it can be difficult to trace the perpetrator. Generally, it’s not that we can never trace them.”

Ultimately, the lawsuit was withdrawn on September 5, and Mr. Honma’s ‘wrongful accusation’ was cleared. However, he feels quite exhausted from being involved in the situation.

“When I first consulted with the law office, they told me, ‘It will cost 400,000 yen to take on the lawsuit. That’s more than the 250,000 yen being claimed.’ In a way, out of kindness, they suggested that ‘it would be cheaper to just pay 250,000 yen.’ But that seemed completely unreasonable, so I decided to handle the lawsuit myself without relying on a lawyer.

I taught myself how to write a response document (a written statement detailing my position against the other party’s claims), and on the day of the oral argument (a procedure where the parties or their representatives present their claims and evidence before the judge), I took a day off work to attend the Tokyo District Court from Tochigi. Since I had no knowledge of legal proceedings, I used my days off to attend several free consultations with lawyers.”

Mr. Honma was able to avoid trouble by responding firmly, but as the issues of defamation through social media increase, cases like this may also be on the rise. There are likely individuals who, feeling unsettled, might leave such situations unaddressed. If someone finds themselves facing a lawsuit they have no recollection of, how should they respond? Attorney Yuka Kofuji of Hibiki Law Firm offers the following advice.

“The lawsuit is sent abruptly. It includes a document stating, ‘There will be an oral argument at the court on [date], so if you have any objections, please submit a response document.’ If you become flustered and, while trying to figure out what to do, fail to submit your response document and do not attend the initial oral argument, the trial will proceed in your absence.

In the legal world, ‘the absence of a rebuttal means the defendant acknowledges the plaintiff’s claims.’ Therefore, as a general rule, a judgment will be issued recognizing the plaintiff’s demands. So, please make sure to submit at least your response document. Even if the format isn’t perfect, it’s enough to simply write, ‘I genuinely have no recollection of this, and the plaintiff’s claims are incorrect.'”