Outgoing Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, whose tenure can be described as one long run-in with the media, won 3 million yen in damages Tuesday in a libel suit against a monthly magazine.
Presiding Judge Koichi Shinano at the Tokyo District Court acknowledged part of Mori's claims against the monthly magazine Uwasa no Shinso (The Truth of Rumors) and its publisher, Yasunori Okadome, saying the magazine had defamed Mori and ordering them to pay the damages.
However, the judge also said it was "hard to understand why Prime Minister Mori, who is in a position to best explain details of the matter, would not submit evidence that would actively refute the allegation."