A district court on Friday ordered a high court judge to pay ¥440,000 ($3,300) in damages after posting messages on social media that the bereaved family of a high school girl murdered in Tokyo found offensive.
Social media posts by Kiichi Okaguchi of the Sendai High Court were "thoughtless" and "inappropriate acts that violate duties imposed on an incumbent judge," said Presiding Judge Masahiko Kiyono of the Tokyo District Court in handing down the ruling.
Okaguchi, 56, is also being tried at the Judge Impeachment Court for the posts after a parliamentary committee for the prosecution of judges decided in 2021 to refer him.