Japanese judge becomes first to be reprimanded for a post made on social media following 'prejudicia

Japan Times -- Oct 19

The Supreme Court said Wednesday it will reprimand a 52-year-old judge for his controversial social media post earlier this year, marking a first in Japan.

Judge Kiichi Okaguchi held a news conference later in the day and argued that the decision runs counter to his “freedom of expression.”

In May, he posted a comment on Twitter about a civil lawsuit over the ownership of a dog.

In the post, he criticized the dog’s original owner for trying to get the animal back from the current guardian after “abandoning it.”

He was not presiding over the suit, according to the top court.

The Twitter post “went beyond the tolerable limit for free speech” as it “gave rise to suspicion among the public that judges may have prejudices based on superficial and one-sided information and understanding,” the court said.

Oct 19 (ANNnewsCH) - ツイッターで不適切な投稿をしたとして東京高裁が懲戒を申し立てた裁判官について、最高裁は懲戒にあたると判断して戒告とする決定を出しました。