The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday rejected half of a lawsuit filed by 92 women accusing Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara of slandering them in comments about a separate court case regarding his sexist comments.
The plaintiffs, who also took part in a lawsuit in 2003 demanding compensation from Ishihara for calling women "babaa" (old hags), claimed the governor insulted their legal action by denouncing the suit as a "mere performance" at a news conference in 2005. They were demanding an apology, deletion of Ishihara's transcripts from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's home page, and 110,000 yen each in compensation.
But presiding Judge Shin Takano ruled that Ishihara's remark on the lawsuit was made as a public official, and that the plaintiffs have no right to demand compensation from him as an individual.
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