The Tokyo District Court issued a decision Friday dismissing a call by Rakuten Inc. for Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. to disclose its accounting records on stock trading.
The court said the decision to reject the request for a provisional injunction will not seriously disadvantage Rakuten, a major online shopping mall operator. The company said it plans to appeal the ruling while also formally filing a lawsuit.
The court's decision was the first in connection with a row that erupted in October 2005 when Rakuten urged TBS to merge with it after acquiring a large block of TBS shares.
Rakuten alleges that TBS, one of Japan's biggest private TV broadcasters, has spent more than 90 billion yen on cross-shareholding deals with other firms in an effort to ward off hostile takeover bids by securing a large number of stable investors.
It says such arrangements make it difficult for other shareholders to purchase TBS shares.
Rakuten has made overtures to TBS, saying they could achieve a synergy by bringing together their TV broadcasting and Internet services.