<figure id="attachment_393324" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 368px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-393324"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="78969667"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/919206c9d54b5479bead441443c2d2f4.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-393324" class="wp-caption-text">Downtown&#8217;s Hitoshi Matsumoto has suspended his entertainment activities due to a lawsuit with Bunshun. &#8230;&#8230;</figcaption></figure>
<p>The &#8220;Downtown&#8221; star Matsumoto Hitoshi has sued Bungei Shunju, publisher of the weekly Bunshun magazine, for defamation.</p>
<p>In the first place, Matsumoto was outraged by a series of &#8220;sexually abusive reports.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I&#8217;m going to fight it because it has no basis in fact.</span></p>
<p>I&#8217;m going to fight it because it has no basis in fact. It is hard to believe that Matsumoto will put down his sword so easily, but the information about the settlement continues to grow.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> The source of the settlement information is a mystery to begin with. When I asked Bunshun and Matsumoto&#8217;s side, their reaction was, &#8216;What&#8217;s that? I asked Matsumoto&#8217;s side, and they responded, &#8220;What&#8217;s that? I understand that they can only respond in such a way, but it is so puzzling. I have no idea how they are going to settle the matter.　I have no idea.</span></p>
<p>said a reporter from a sports newspaper.</p>
<h2>Behind the scenes, they were trying to find a &#8220;landing spot&#8221; with Bunshun.</h2>
<p>Bunshun first broke the news about Matsumoto at the end of December last year. In the fall of 2003, a drinking party was held at a hotel in Tokyo, attended by several men and women, and at the party, a woman, Ako, was invited to Matsumoto&#8217;s room and</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> &#8220;She was forced to engage in sexual acts with Matsumoto.</span></p>
<p>The report stated that &#8220;Aoko was forced to perform sexual acts on him. Matsumoto immediately declared legal action through Yoshimoto Kogyo. Yoshimoto Kogyo later distanced itself from the case, citing a conflict of interest, and Matsumoto has been fighting the legal battle on his own.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> While Matsumoto was in a fighting pose, people around him were communicating with Bunshun to find a way to settle the matter. &#8220;Aside from Mr. Matsumoto, those around him were initially looking for a way other than a trial, but that failed. However, that too ended in failure, and an all-out confrontation ensued.</span></p>
<p>A trial takes an enormous amount of time, money, and effort. Matsumoto&#8217;s trial is said to take &#8220;at least two years&#8221; before a verdict is reached, and there is no doubt that it is weighing heavily on both Matsumoto and the Bunshun side.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="The presence of Ms. Ako, who will not hesitate to appear as a witness."></div>
<p>A person involved in the comedy industry said</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The longer the trial drags on, the further away Mr. Matsumoto&#8217;s comeback will be. In the fast-changing entertainment industry, it is understandable that even someone in Matsumoto&#8217;s class would feel uneasy. Bunshun is also Bunshun, and there is no merit in putting manpower into the trial. It is understandable that both parties want to settle the case.</span></p>
<p>He continued, &#8220;However, both sides are willing to reach a compromise.</p>
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<p>However, a settlement cannot be reached unless both sides can find a compromise. Usually, in defamation trials, the court proposes a settlement after a series of oral arguments, but this is before that point.</p>
<p>What cannot be avoided in the settlement proposal is the &#8220;feelings&#8221; of Ms. Ako, who claims to have been harmed.</p>
<h2>Settlement does not mean immediate return to TV</h2>
<p>The basis of the series of Bunshun reports is Ms. Ako&#8217;s accusations, and she is prepared to appear as a witness.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The plaintiff is Matsumoto Hitoshi and the defendant is Bungei Shunju, but I don&#8217;t think the adults can settle the case on their own. Bungeishunju has been close to Ms. A&#8217;s feelings of victimization and has come this far. We cannot just settle with Ms. Matsumoto and say, &#8216;Well, that&#8217;s that. At the very least, the terms of the settlement will probably include some kind of &#8220;statement of opinion&#8221; by Mr. Matsumoto to Ms. Ako. How will Ms. A. judge that? Only after that is cleared will there be a settlement.</span></p>
<p>The two sides are in direct conflict with each other, and it will not be easy to find a settlement. The settlement is not easy to reach. Fans are hoping for a return to TV by the end of the year, but depending on their views on Ms. Ako, their sentiments may change drastically.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> In principle, the details of the settlement will not be made public, but if she wants to return to TV, there will be calls from program sponsors for confirmation of the details. If the content of the settlement is in violation of the compliance rules, then no matter how much they have settled the case, they will not be able to return to work immediately.</span></p>
<p>Matsumoto has remained silent. Will we ever hear the &#8220;truth&#8221; from his mouth?</p>


 Downtown's Hitoshi Matsumoto has been taking a break from his entertainment activities to focus on his trial with Bunshun Weekly. In the midst of all this, a theory of a "surprise settlement" suddenly began circulating within the industry. However, there is a hurdle to clear: ......

Hitoshi Matsumoto vs. Bunshun: Reconciliation Hinges on “Ms. A’s Feelings”

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