A composer accused of faking deafness is contesting a damages suit filed over a nationwide tour that was canceled following the revelation that a ghostwriter penned many of his works.
Lawyers for Mamoru Samuragochi told the Osaka District Court on Tuesday their client would fight the lawsuit filed by Osaka-based Samon Promotion, which is seeking ¥61 million in damages.
Samuragochi is accused of feigning the profound deafness that characterized his public appearances and led to some calling him a Japanese Beethoven. He says his hearing loss is genuine.
Samon Promotion organized the tour in 2013 and 2014 following the commercial success of Samuragochi's 2011 Hiroshima Symphony, purportedly written by the Hiroshima native for the victims of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing.
But the tour was canceled after Samuragochi admitted in February this year that he had employed Takashi Niigaki to ghostwrite a range of works, including the Hiroshima Symphony.
Ticket refunds and other costs from canceling the 14 remaining concerts totaled ¥61 million, according to documents submitted to the court.