TOKYO (TR) – A court here earlier this month ruled in favor of a woman who was deceived by a man met on a dating app into thinking he was single.
In the ruling, the presiding judge said that the man had violated her “right to chastity,” reports NHK (Dec. 8).
A woman living in Kanagawa Prefecture met a man who worked for a major advertising agency on a dating app two years ago. She told him that she had no interest in dating a married man.
They then began dating him after confirming that he was single. However, it was later revealed that the man has a wife and children.
During the trial at the Tokyo District Court, the woman claimed that her “right to chastity, which prevents her from having sexual relations with a married man, had been violated.” She sought approximately 7.8 million yen in damages.
During the trial, the man argued that “my relationship with the woman was not a serious relationship with the intention of marriage, but was merely for the purpose of sexual intercourse. Therefore, this did not constitute a violation of her right to chastity.”
In his ruling handed down on December 8, presiding judge Takato Kawahara stated, “The man was aware that the woman desired a relationship with a view to marriage, and his repeated sexual acts while intentionally concealing the fact that he was married constituted a violation of her right to chastity.”
“Mental distress”
The court acknowledged that “the woman suffered mental distress, including contracting a sexually transmitted disease during their relationship and developing an adjustment disorder after learning that the man was married.” It ordered the man to pay approximately 1.5 million yen in damages.
According to the judgment, the woman, works for a foreign company, met the man using a dating app in May of 2023.
In her profile, the woman wrote, “Looking for a serious relationship” and “Married people and those with girlfriends are not accepted.”
The following month, the woman posted on social media, “What I hate is being used as a convenient affair partner.” The man wrote her back. “Well, there’s no benefit for the other person doing that, right?” he wrote.
The woman met the man in person and confirmed that he was not married before starting a relationship.
However, four months into their relationship, he suddenly blocked her on chat app Line and she was no longer able to contact him.
Suspicious, the woman hired a detective to investigate, and discovered that the man was married with children.
Lawsuit seeking damages
The woman contracted a sexually transmitted disease during their relationship, and after being deceived by the man, she developed an adjustment disorder and other symptoms. Last year, she filed a lawsuit seeking damages.
Hoping to reduce the number of people who suffer similar damage, the woman has also started an “Association for Victims of Fake Single Persons.” She is posting information about herself and others on a website.
Following the verdict, the woman spoke to reporters. “I’m relieved that being forced into a relationship and sexual acts to which I did not truly consent has been properly recognized as illegal,” she said. “I’ve been dealing with evidence that I should never have had to look back on, so I was overwhelmed with emotion and cried when I heard the verdict.”
The woman has set up an “Association for Victims of Fake Singles” to disseminate information to prevent similar victimization.
“The current situation is that many victims end up just putting up with it, and they are sometimes blamed for using dating apps, but the victims themselves blame themselves for not realizing it. Some have missed the ideal age for childbirth or marriage, while others have become distrustful of people and find it difficult to date in the future. I want to prevent even one more person from falling victim to this same scam and save those who have been victimized,” she said.
Dating apps
A national survey found that one in four people use dating apps to meet a potential spouse.
In a survey conducted by the Child and Family Agency last July, 2,000 men and women under 40 who had married within the past five years were asked how they met their spouse. Those answering through dating apps, the most common answer, represented 25.1 percent. Workplace or business associates was second at 20.5 percent. School and introductions by friends came in third and fourth at 9.9 and 9.1 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, in a survey commissioned by a private research company by the Consumer Affairs Agency four years ago, targeting over 500 men and women who had used dating apps, 9.5 percent of respondents said they had been lied to about whether they were in a relationship or their marital status.
