TOKYO —

The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday ordered Shogakukan Corp, which is the publisher of Josei Seven, a tabloid magazine for women, to pay more compensation to actress Ryoko Hirosue over the defamation of her character in a story it ran. The court topped up the compensation to 2.3 million yen, after the Tokyo Regional Court had previously ordered the publisher to pay 1.2 million yen in June.

According to the court decision, the magazine in March 2007 implied that Hirosue was involved in an extramarital affair with a man, posting a photo of the two of them on a motorbike.

Judge Hidetoshi Somiya said, “The story had a negative influence over her reputation as an actress.” Somiya revised the regional court’s decision that said: “Hirosue’s freewheeling personality is one of her unique characteristics, which doesn’t necessarily mean a negative reputation.” Somiya increased the amount of compensation, considering her psychological distress.

In an official comment, Shogakukan Corp said, “Some points of our appeal were not accepted by the court. We will consider what to do next after carefully examining today’s decision.”

8 Comments

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  rjd_jr at 10:45 AM JST - 10th December

  Sheesh, an extra marital affair? Who cares, most celebrities wear that with a badge of honor! Relatively minor, get with the program Japan celebrities!

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  fatloser at 11:07 AM JST - 10th December

  She looks like a young Robin Williams!! Would the court come to the rescue of a man in similar straights?

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  thepro at 12:01 PM JST - 10th December

  Probably true anyway. Meh.

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  khemet at 01:20 PM JST - 10th December

  I am sure there are worse things happening to people in this world, but, I guess we have to cry this one a river because she is “Innocent and Famous” I suppose, and the big bad publisher said mean things about wittle Hirosue-san. Yo, she couldn’t make in Amerika for sure , they would eat her ass up, digest the bones, hair, nails, everything. A yo, Japan bring some real News, something informative and insightful.

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  LocalBoy at 01:58 PM JST - 10th December

  Ambulance Chasing is what we call it in Gaijin Land

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  bdiego at 02:40 PM JST - 10th December

  This news is a good thing, we need more responsible journalism in the world and less tabloids.

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  terebiko at 03:55 PM JST - 10th December

  Agree with bdiego, stop printing lies, and you won't get slapped with a fine. More responsible journalism! Get rid of the paparazzi and tabloids. Of course they wouldn't be around if there weren't people buying their swill. Ooops, guess it's the general public's fault...

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  plasticmonkey at 10:41 PM JST - 10th December

  Somiya increased the amount of compensation, considering her psychological distress.

  and after having a little "chat" with her production company

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