The Tokyo District Court on Monday rejected a suit filed by a man seeking damages over the emotional distress he suffered after a high school girl wrongly accused him of groping her on a train in May 1994.
Presiding Judge Toshifumi Shibata said that, while there was no evidence to substantiate the case against the man, his arrest was not unreasonable as he had been standing in front of the girl on the packed train.
The plaintiff, from Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward, said the ordeal of being arrested and detained had caused him significant anguish. He had demanded 15 million yen in damages from the girl, who also lives in Katsushika Ward, and her parents.
According to the ruling, the man was arrested June 7, 1994, on suspicion of molesting the girl. She withdrew her complaint against him June 16, however, because she was unwilling to testify. The man was released the next day.
The plaintiff also lost another lawsuit seeking state redress over his arrest.
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