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Shinsuke Shimada loses suit to publisher over claimed gangster association

Shinsuke Shimada
Shinsuke Shimada

TOKYO (TR) – The Tokyo Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled against former television entertainer Shinsuke Shimada and his agency in an appeal lawsuit for libel filed against publisher Kodansha, reports the Mainichi Shimbun (Aug. 27).

Agency Yoshimoto Kogyo and the Shimada, 58, sought compensation 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.”

This is the third time that a court has ruled in favor of Kodansha.

Last year, the Tokyo High Court ruled against Shimada and Yoshimoto Kogyo. The year before, the Tokyo District Court handed down the same judgement while ordering a payment of 1.1 million yen to Yoshimoto Kogyo, which had been critical over content in the article that indicated that the agency was accommodating to its performers associating with organized crime members.

In August of 2011, Shimada abruptly announced his retirement from the entertainment business, citing an exchange of e-mails with an upper member of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan’s largest crime syndicate, as the reason.