A Tokyo court on Thursday ordered ruling party lawmaker Mio Sugita to pay Shiori Ito, a journalist and symbol of Japan's #MeToo movement, ¥550,000 ($3,700) in damages for clicking "like" on several tweets Ito said defamed her.
The ruling by the Tokyo High Court, which overturned a dismissal of the suit by the Tokyo District Court, marks the first time damages have been awarded over the liking of a defamatory post online, according to Ito's lawyer.
"(The court) understood my suffering," said Ito, 33, who had sought ¥2.2 million.