TV station settles with biker leader OSAKA -- TV Osaka reached an out-of-court settlement with a former motorcycle gang leader on Monday by expressing regret for arranging performances that led to his prosecution for road law violations.
The settlement resulted from an appeal the former gang leader filed with the Osaka High Court over the incident, which occurred in summer 1999.
The gang leader had sought 23 million yen in damages from the TV station, which had asked him to cooperate in its report on motorcycle gangs by engaging in reckless driving.
After the station aired the program in September that year, the gang leader was arrested for violating the Road Traffic Law and sentenced in May to four months in prison.
According to an Osaka District Court ruling in June, the gang leader was asked by a director of the TV station to set up footage of reckless driving conducted by real motorcycle gangs.
The gang leader, who asked acquaintances and active motorcycle gang members to participate, also ended up taking part in reckless stunts.
Although the district court ruling acknowledged that the TV station's reporting was inappropriate, it also dismissed the gang leader's claim.