Damages awarded to Japan's #MeToo symbol over defamatory tweet likes

TOKYO, Oct 20 (Kyodo) - A Tokyo court on Thursday ordered ruling party lawmaker Mio Sugita to pay Shiori Ito, a journalist and symbol of Japan's #MeToo movement, 550,000 yen ($3,700) in damages for clicking "like" on several tweets she said defamed her.

The ruling by the Tokyo High Court, which overturned a dismissal of the suit by the Tokyo District Court, marks the first time damages have been awarded for liking a defamatory post online, according to Ito's lawyer.

In handing down the ruling, Presiding Judge Hiroshi Ishii said that Sugita had "used tweets expressing contempt for Ms. Ito to intentionally harm (Ms. Ito's) dignity," given her history of ridiculing and criticizing Ito prior to liking the posts. ...continue reading

Source: 日テレNEWS

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