A man has been found guilty of defamation for insulting a restaurant chain operator on the Internet after the judge ruled that online slandering is as influential as any other means of expression, it has been learned.
The Supreme Court's First Petty Bench on Monday upheld a lower court ruling that convicted Kengo Hashizume, 38, of slandering a ramen noodle shop chain operator online and ordered him to pay 300,000 yen in fines, after dismissing his appeal.
It is the first time that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a victim of online slandering.
Hashizume, a corporate employee, was charged with making a libelous statement about the restaurant operator on his Web site in 2002 by saying that the company was affiliated to a cult.
During the first ruling in February 2008, the Tokyo District Court acquitted Hashizume, pointing out that online defamation issues should be handled differently from those involving media reports and publications, as the Internet allows users to rebut each other and many people think that online information is less credible.
The Tokyo High Court, however, overturned the lower court ruling and convicted Hashizume in January last year, saying that the judging criteria should remain the same for Internet issues.
"Online information is available to the general public very quickly, and it can cause serious damage in some cases. There is no reason to separate online expression from other means of communication," said Presiding Judge Yu Shiraki. "The defendant did not confirm the facts with the company, and he should be held responsible for that."
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20100317p2a00m0na009000c.html
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