The compensation was zero yen, and Yoshimoto’s side proposed a settlement… The whole story behind the “sudden drop of the lawsuit” of Hitoshi Matsumoto’s “Bunshun Trial.

Yoshimoto Kogyo and Bungei Shunju had been negotiating intermittently since the summer. In the first place, it was Yoshimoto’s side that proposed the settlement. Yoshimoto’s aim seems to have been to get Matsumoto (Hitoshi) back to work as soon as possible.

On November 8, it was reported that “Downtown” star Matsumoto Hitoshi (61) was withdrawing his lawsuit against the Weekly Bunshun, which published an article in which a woman claimed to have been sexually victimized. Matsumoto had demanded 550 million yen in damages from Bungei Shunju, the publisher, and the publication of a corrected article, claiming that his reputation had been damaged.

The reason negotiations between Yoshimoto and Bungei Shunju were protracted was because of the ‘apology letter. The Bungei Shunju side made an ‘apology to the woman’ a condition for settlement negotiations. They had repeated discussions about whether to publish the apology in the first place, and if so, how to express it. Mr. Matsumoto was concerned about the impact on his family if the public were to perceive it as an admission of sexual assault. Even after it was decided that he would issue a letter of apology to the women, there were repeated negotiations between the two parties regarding the content of the letter.

After several rounds of negotiations, the two parties reached a general agreement to drop the lawsuit by the end of October. And so it came to pass that on November 8, Matsumoto withdrew the lawsuit and both Matsumoto and Bungei Shunju released their comments. The “apology” that Matsumoto would issue from the SNS said, “It is true that I went to a drinking party. I would like to apologize if anyone was made to feel uncomfortable.

It appears that the Bunshun side will pay zero yen in compensation or settlement as a result of the withdrawal.

When we contacted Yoshimoto Kogyo for an interview, we received the following response.

The Matsumoto trial was concluded after discussions between the plaintiff and the defendant. Since no money was exchanged, the case was not settled, but rather resolved through discussion.

There is a strong possibility that Matsumoto’s side will start working toward a comeback. But will it be that easy?

Considering that Un-jash’s Ken Watanabe has yet to make a full comeback, I don’t think Matsumoto will be able to return to work so easily. If he does continue his activities, it will most likely be through media other than television, such as YouTube,” said entertainment journalist Hiroyuki Sasaki.

In any case, there is no doubt that the “allegations of sexual assault by Matsumoto Hitoshi,” which began at the end of last year, have come to an end.