Legal Proceeding(Shueisha Inc
May 23 2003 - 7:49AM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:4937L
Takefuji Corporation
23 May 2003
For release Immediately
Representative Akira Kiyokawa, President
Contact Investor Relations
Tel 81333658011 Fax 81333658070
Stock Code No 8564 TYOSE
Legal proceedings against Shueisha Inc.
Expansion of a claim for damages
On May 21, 2003 Tokyo, Japan
Takefuji Corporation has on May 21, 2003 brought a supplementary suit claiming
Yen50, 000,000 for damages as well as a public retraction and apology in the
Tokyo District Court against Shueisha Inc. as publisher of the weekly magazine
(Playboy), in connection with a feature article, "the Second Exclusive Scoop"
that appeared in the June 3, 2003 edition of the stated magazine (on sale from
May 20, 2003). The contents of this article are also highly damaging to the good
name and reputation of Takefuji Corporation.
Since Takefuji Corporation has already initiated legal proceedings claiming for
damages and demanding for a public retraction and apology in the Tokyo District
Court against Shueisha Inc., with regard to the article that also appeared in
the previous May 27, 2003 edition of the stated magazine (on sale from May 13,
2003), on May 14, 2003, the total amount of claim amounts to Yen102, 200,000.
Case Demand for a public retraction and apology by Shueisha Inc.
Amount of claim Yen102,200,000 (Yen102.2million)
Damages Yen100, 000,000
Cost of publishing a public retraction and apology
Yen 2, 200,000
Participants
Plaintiff Takefuji Corporation
Defendants Mr.Tamio Kojima, Representative Director
Mr.Tomoji Tanaka, Chief Editor of Weekly Playboy
Mr.Yu Terasawa, Reporter
Reason for legal proceedings
Shueisha Inc. carried the four pages of the feature article titled, "Records of
borrowed amounts and payments leaked outright to the state power. Personal
credit information was provided to the police by a leading finance company,
Takefuji Corporation" that appeared in the weekly magazine "Playboy" on sale
from May 20, 2003. In the aforesaid article, Shueisha Inc. described as if
Takefuji Corporation had unlawfully provided consumers' credit records
including amount borrowed and loan payments at the request of Japanese police.
However, it goes without saying that such description is groundless and
defamatory.
Although we have already initiated legal proceedings claiming for damages
against the feature article appeared in the previous edition of the magazine as
of May 27, 2003 (on sale from May 13, 2003), on May 14, 2003, Shueisha Inc.
continued to carry the article of the same contents again in the latest edition
as of June 3 (on sale from May 20) without enough research and reconfirmation.
We believe such action taken with the intent to greatly damage our good name and
reputation is unforgivable and to be denied emphatically. Therefore, we filed a
suit in the Tokyo District Court as soon as the latest edition became on sale.
We also would like to announce that if the magazine publishes any further
articles and defamation that threaten to the Company's good name and undermine
the public's trust in us, we determine to take solid measures and legal action
against the publication.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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