Matsumoto Hitoshi Abandons Continuation of Trial, “Too Late Apology” Causes “Hurdle to Return to Terrestrial Broadcasting”.

The industry is abuzz. The reason is that “Downtown” star Matsumoto Hitoshi (61) has withdrawn his lawsuit.

Matsumoto was reported in “Weekly Bunshun” at the end of 2011 to have forced multiple women to perform sexual acts on him. Matsumoto denied the report as untrue and filed a lawsuit against the magazine’s publisher, Bungei Shunju-sha, and the magazine’s editor-in-chief, demanding 550 million yen in damages and the publication of a corrected article, claiming that his reputation was defamed.

Matsumoto announced that he would suspend his entertainment activities in order to focus on the trial. In March of this year, the first oral argument was held at the Tokyo District Court, but Matsumoto himself did not appear.

Impatience on Matsumoto’s part

The second oral argument preparation was scheduled to take place in August, but was postponed. Then, suddenly, a rumor popped up that discussions were underway for a “settlement.

The reason why such rumors began to emerge is thought to be due to a report in the “Shukan Bunshun” (weekly magazine). The July 18 issue of Bunshun reported that Matsumoto’s attorney, Masahiro Tashiro, had hired a detective agency to conduct a background check on the woman who had claimed victimization.

In addition, according to the article, Attorney Tashiro himself contacted a person who was close to the woman. The article also reported that Tashiro himself contacted a person who was close to the woman and asked him to persuade her to withdraw from the court appearance.

I sensed impatience on Matsumoto’s part. He must have thought that he would lose the case for sure. In order to gain as much advantage as possible, they thought the only way was to stop the victim from taking the stand, but in the end, the “Bunshun” side found out and put them in a disadvantageous situation.

The “backdoor maneuvering” backfired completely. In fact, the “backdoor maneuvering” backfired completely, aggravating the “fighting spirit” of the victimized women, and the court’s impression of the case also deteriorated.