Five journalists said Tuesday they will countersue the leading consumer lender Takefuji Corp., which launched libel litigation against them earlier this year over their reports on the scandal-tainted firm's alleged misdeeds.
In a news conference at the Tokyo District Court, four freelance journalists and the chief editor of the monthly magazine Tsukuru said they are taking the action because Takefuji's libel claims are unfounded and its lawsuits against them were only meant to silence them.
Takefuji has filed a series of lawsuits against the journalists since March, demanding as much as 200 million yen in compensation for their reporting a wide range of illicit activity linked to the firm, including collusion with police, illegal information-collecting activities, such as wiretapping, strong-arm loan-collection tactics and employee abuses.