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2. March 2006: Yokohama District
Court Rules Yamazaki Guilty in Libel Trial — Fined
1.1 million yen |
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Convicted embezzler and former
lawyer for the Soka Gakkai, Masatomo Yamazaki was ordered
to pay 1.1 million yen as a result of losing a lawsuit
for libel.
On February 27, a hearing was held at Yokohama district
court with Judge Hiroshi Numata presiding, regarding a
libel and invasion of privacy lawsuit filed by a Soka
Gakkai member in Ehime prefecture. The lawsuit was a result
of false statements found in a book published by Yamazaki.
In a spurious article in the book that Yamazaki published
in 2001, he misquoted this person using his name thus
violating his right of privacy.
The verdict strictly condemned Yamazaki and the absurd
inaccuracies in his book. The judge said the book was
“lacking in detailed content.” He questioned
whether or not “the defendant conducted adequate
research to support this information,” and said
that it is “hard to accept that the contents are
true.” He pointed that the defendants’ actions
show “a lack of concern for the good of the community
and the public interest.”
So far Yamazaki has been convicted in eight court cases
regarding the same book and ordered to pay 2.6 million
yen in total. (Two of those two cases ended in a settlement
where Yamazaki apologized publicly.)
Thus far, Yamazaki has lost 12 consecutive court cases
including this recent one.
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(From Seikyo Shimbun, March
3rd, 2006)
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