Gunma Disabled Man Files Criminal Charges After Being Called “Socially Unacceptable” Online

A man in his 40s who is severely disabled, filed a criminal complaint against an online contributor in Tokyo for defamation and insult on December 18, 2023. Prior to the criminal complaint, the man filed a civil suit against the online poster, seeking compensation for damages, and the Maebashi District Court ordered him to pay approximately 960,000 yen on December 8, 2023. The criminal complaint was filed because the online contributor submitted a written defense in the civil trial, stating that the man was “such a socially unacceptable item”. The man, who has vertebral osteodystrophy, a disease that causes bone deformities, filed a mandatory lawsuit against Maebashi City in Gunma Prefecture, where he lives, demanding 24-hour nursing care services, and a series of slanderous remarks were made on the Internet. Episode Notes: https://barrierfreejapan.com/2024/01/28/gunma-disabled-man-files-criminal-complaint-over-online-abuse-after-being-called-socially-unacceptable-during-civil-lawsuit/