The bereaved family of the murder of a high school girl sought compensation from Judge Kiichi Okaguchi of the Sendai High Court, claiming that his social media posts had hurt his reputation. and ordered the payment of more than 400,000 yen.

The bereaved family of the murder of a 17-year-old high school girl in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward in 2015 commented on the three posts posted on social media and blogs by Judge Kiichi Okaguchi about the incident and the trial, saying, "My daughter and myself. The reputation of the company was hurt," and demanded compensation.



In a ruling on the 27th, Chief Judge Masahiko Seino of the Tokyo District Court acknowledged that one of the posts was ``damaging the honor of the bereaved family, etc., is contrary to the facts, and is an insulting expression that denies the personality.''



After that, Judge Okaguchi pointed out, ``It was a fairly malicious content, and as a judge, he had an influence that set him apart from general SNS users when it came to posts related to the court.'' was ordered to pay compensation of more than 400,000 yen.



On the other hand, he criticized the other posts, saying, "It deeply hurt the feelings of the bereaved family and was an inappropriate act as an incumbent judge." And the content of the post cannot be said to be illegal."



Judge Okaguchi is known as a unique judge who actively disseminates information on SNS. The duties of the Sendai High Court have also been suspended.

Bereaved family "Frankly speaking, I have a strong feeling of regret"

After receiving the ruling, the bereaved family held a press conference, and Masafumi Iwase, the father of the deceased female student, said, "We can appreciate that one post was approved, but the other two posts were approved. I can't understand why it wasn't there, and frankly, I feel very disappointed." He said he would like to consider appealing.



Her mother, Yumiko, said, "I wanted you to think about the weight of your duties as a judge, but it's unfortunate that there are parts that were judged in the same way as the general public, and I'm not convinced." I was talking to

Judge Okaguchi also disposes of another SNS posting

Judge Kiichi Okaguchi of the Sendai High Court has been in charge of civil cases at the Tokyo High Court and other courts, and while he has written numerous judicial-related books, he is unique in that he actively disseminates information using SNS such as Twitter and Facebook. Also known as the judge of



Currently, his Twitter account is frozen, but in March of 5 years ago, he was severely reprimanded by the Tokyo High Court, where he was affiliated at the time, after receiving protests from the bereaved family for writing about the trial in which a high school girl was murdered. I was.



In addition, the Tokyo High Court filed a disciplinary action for hurting the parties over writing about another trial. It goes without saying that there is freedom of expression, but it goes beyond the permissible limits.”



It was the first time that a judge had received disciplinary action over posting on social media.



After that, Judge Okaguchi continued to post content about the female high school student's bereaved family on social media, and three years ago in 2020, the Supreme Court issued a reprimand again.



Regarding these posts, the impeachment court of the Diet is currently deliberating whether to dismiss the judge, and Judge Okaguchi said, ``It is true that inappropriate expressions are included in relation to the bereaved family. , I immediately deleted it and apologized, but none of the posts were intended to hurt or insult the bereaved family."



This is the first time an impeachment trial has been held over a judge's expressive behavior, and if he is dismissed, he will lose his legal qualifications and will not be able to work as a lawyer.