“Matsumoto Hitoshi vs． Bunshun” – “Shocking facts” written in the court records．．．Matsumoto’s side submitted social media posts by an exposer as evidence．
On November 8, Downtown comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto (61) announced that he was “withdrawing the lawsuit” in which he was seeking approximately 550 million yen in damages from Bungeishunju, the publisher of Shukan Bunshun, and others over an article in the magazine that reported on sexual assault committed by Matsumoto. The trial, which lasted 291 days since the lawsuit was filed in January of this year, came to an unexpected end. Why did Matsumoto, who declared, “I will fight because the allegations are baseless,” end the fight himself? And, “What was the Matsumoto Hitoshi trial all about?” After the “withdrawal of the lawsuit” was made public, the author looked at the court records in an attempt to get to the heart of the matter. *Omitted “The full story of Matsumoto Hitoshi’s trial” unraveled from court records Mr. Matsumoto reigns at the top of the entertainment world in both name and reality. What exactly was the point of this trial, in which such a person even suspended his activities in order to push ahead? In order to get to the heart of Matsumoto’s “withdrawal of the lawsuit,” the author reviewed the court records on November 13th. The author, who has looked at many court records in the past, felt that the thickness of the court records was “thin for a trial involving 500 million yen.” If you open a few pages from the cover, you will find a “withdrawal letter” from Matsumoto’s side and a “letter of consent” from Bunshun, both dated November 8th. “In regard to the above-mentioned incident, the plaintiff withdraws all of its claims against the defendants for convenience” (“Withdrawal Letter” dated November 8, 2024) “In regard to the above-mentioned incident, the defendants agree to the plaintiff’s withdrawal” (“Consent Letter” dated the same day) “In regard to the above-mentioned incident, the plaintiff withdraws all of its claims against the defendants for convenience” without giving detailed reasons. However, upon leafing through the court records, the reason why Matsumoto’s side decided to put an end to the case itself becomes clear. Matsumoto also demanded “the woman’s LINE account” from Bunshun. The future of this lawsuit may have been uncertain from the start. The complaint submitted by Matsumoto’s side stated that, “The plaintiff suffered mental damage that is difficult to describe, and therefore compensation for the mental anguish suffered by the plaintiff shall be no less than 500 million yen.” However, despite the high amount of approximately 500 million yen being claimed, the breakdown of the amount remains unknown. There is no evidence to prove that Matsumoto did not commit sexual assault, and the report merely cites the relevant page in Shukan Bunshun to claim that “this is clearly defamatory of the plaintiff.” The statement is far from clear, as it does not provide any specific explanation as to why Matsumoto has not committed any sexual assaults. Furthermore, in “Preparatory Document 1” (dated March 28, 2024), Matsumoto’s side requested not only the names of the alleged victims, whose names were withheld in the article as “Ms. A” and “Ms. B,” but also their “LINE accounts” and photos showing their appearance, citing the need to “expedite the proceedings” and “refresh memories.” This left Bunshun dumbfounded, saying, “The plaintiff’s above claims are hard to believe.” In the end, Matsumoto’s side stated that they were “perplexed by the defendants’ abnormally emotional reaction,” and submitted as evidence (Exhibit A-6) the contents of a social media post by the exposer in which he said he had identified Ms. A and Ms. B. However, there is no way that a judge would evaluate such posts by exposé streamers, the veracity of which is unclear, as evidence. Surely Matsumoto’s side must have known as well… Naturally, as the documents could identify individuals, access to the evidence explanation documents was restricted and the text was blacked out. While both sides were continuing to argue over whether or not to disclose the names of Ms. A and Ms. B, Bunshun began to make moves ahead of the August 14th preparatory hearing date. Bunshun submitted a 19-page “preparatory document” (dated August 7, 2024) and 20 pieces of evidence, including interview notes. Unlike previous back-and-forth exchanges, the discussion now turned to the biggest issue: the “veracity” of the article’s content. The document contains a detailed description of the background and methods of the interviews, from the interviews in July 2020 to the publication of the article in December 2023. For example, in mid-July 2020, Ms. A, who read an article about a comedian’s extramarital affair, contacted Shukan Bunshun through a lawyer she knew, saying, “A woman said, ‘If the article is going to be about Mr. XX (note: the author has withheld his name), then something even worse has happened to me.’ The person in question is Matsumoto Hitoshi.” In addition, the Bunshun reporter had Ms. A draw a diagram of the crime scene on a whiteboard and then conducted an on-site inspection in a hotel room that resembled the actual crime scene. The interview notes are as detailed as a criminal trial record. In addition, the police also interviewed Ms. B’s boyfriend, and obtained testimony such as, “My guess at the time was that when she called me crying, I realized that something had happened between me and Matsu-chan.” ※Omitted Previous thread.
>>1 What is this rubbish that’s full of manipulation… Don’t keep inserting your obvious opinions that are predicated on condensation, you’re underestimating your readers.
>>1 I thought I could quit at any time, but… I’m starting to feel motivated. It’s finally out. This is baseless so I will fight it. That will also be included on Wide na Show. I have always wanted to make people laugh. Many people can no longer laugh about what happened to me, innocent juniors have been dragged into this, and my opinions have been drowned out and not accepted. This absurdity just leaves me confused, frustrated and sad. I want the truth to be revealed to the public and for me to laugh again as soon as possible.
I mean, wouldn’t it be easy to find out the identities of A-san and B-san by asking Ozawa, who brought them there? Or were there so many of them that it was impossible to tell who was who?
He should have continued the lawsuit even if he had no chance of winning. He said his argument was being drowned out, so he should have stated Matsumoto’s argument openly in court. It doesn’t make sense.
How can they bash Matsumoto Hitoshi to this extent with information that is unclear and of dubious origin? The Japanese tendency to online lynch people is frightening.
This is a typical example of impression manipulation, where biased impressions are inserted one after another to lead the reader in a desired direction.
If you read carefully, you’ll see that Bunshun recognized everything as fact but was unable to refute it, which means Matsumoto has no chance of winning, so please forgive him.
>>48>>62 No, no, no, it’s more abnormal and a big problem that gossip articles of unknown veracity can lead to social ostracism. The publishers of gossip articles can then intentionally appoint personnel and even build a nation. In a crazy society like this, it’s too dangerous for ordinary people, which means it’s a direct problem for us.
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