Shinsuke Shimada loses suit against Shukan Gendai over gangster coverage

TOKYO (TR) – The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday ruled against former television celebrity Shinsuke Shimada and his agency in a suit filed last year against publisher Kodansha for libel, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Oct. 30).

Agency Yoshimoto Kogyo and the 56-year-old Shimada sought 165 million yen in damages for an article about the former entertainer’s associations with organized crime that appeared in the October 15, 2011 issue of weekly tabloid Shukan Gendai under the headline that read: “Shimada, you are a gangster.”

One claim within the article was that Shimada utilized organized crime members to negotiate real estate transactions.

“The content of the report has high credibility,” said presiding judge Tomonari Honda in offering an explanation for the rejection of the suit by Shimada.


http://www.tokyoreporter.com/2012/10/31/shinsuke-shimada-loses-suit-against-shukan-gendai-over-gangster-coverage/