Defendant Takashi Tachibana loses another libel suit against Kan Kanno for 880,000 yen in compensation, a judicial decision that “even elections are not allowed.

that diminishes the plaintiff’s social reputation.

The election for the House of Representatives was announced on January 27, and the election campaign has begun in earnest. While the candidates have been making various arguments, one major view expressed by the judiciary has become a hot topic.

On January 22, the Tokyo District Court ordered 880,000 yen in damages to defendant Takashi Tachibana, 58, leader of the “Party to Protect Citizens from NHK,” who was arrested and indicted last year on charges of defamation against a former Hyogo prefectural assembly member and is currently in custody, in a trial against Kan Kanno, 51, for defamation.

On June 8, ’25, while making a speech in support of Kanki Fukui, 54, a candidate for the Amagasaki City Council election, defendant Tachibana told the assembled protesters

These people are getting 5,000 or 10,000 yen from Kanno Kan. They appear on Mr. Kanno’s Internet. They are doing it with money. People who support the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Communist Party are paying money to do this kind of activity.

He stated. This is factually incorrect, and the court’s judgment is,

The court found that this was untrue and that the plaintiff (Mr. Kanno Kanno) had mobilized personnel by paying them money, and had them send out jeers at the defendant, which is an unbecoming act for an author, and that it was deemed to damage the plaintiff’s reputation in society.

The plaintiff’s reputation was thus damaged.

In response to the verdict, Mr. Kanno stated on his social networking site, “This is a great decision by the judiciary.

Even political statements and claims made during elections are not acceptable.

This ruling will be a powerful curtailment against those who foolishly think that “it’s an election, so anything I say will be okay.”

The 880,000 yen compensation is not a large sum of money. However, in response to an interview with this site

“The significance of this verdict is great.

“The significance of this judgment is great,” said attorney Kosuke Nishiwaki, former head of TV Asahi’s legal department.

In defamation trials, the main issues are often whether or not the plaintiff’s reputation is damaged by the statement, and whether or not the plaintiff had reason to believe that the statement was true. The court decision in this case also addressed these two issues, but did not give any special treatment to the fact that it was a speech made in support of the election.

Just because it was an election speech does not mean that it is okay to defame the other party a little, or that it is okay to lie a little. I think this is a very important point. Even if it is a political statement or assertion made during an election, if you injure the other party’s reputation by making a statement that is neither truthful nor truthful, you are committing a tort.

What are the consequences of this ruling? Mr. Kanno said in X

As soon as I find out, I will file a lawsuit for damages for defamation,” he wrote.

He wrote, “I will file a lawsuit for damages for defamation as soon as I find them.

There have been cases where people who agree with Tachibana have made statements similar to the ones he has made. Since Tachibana’s statements were found to be illegal by the court ruling, it is highly likely that other people who made the same statements will also be held liable if sued.

In fact, there are a surprisingly large number of people who have made statements similar to those of Mr. Tachibana. This ruling clearly shows that the spread of false rumors will not go unchecked, and is a major step toward cleaning up social networking sites.