The June 26 article "Ex-New Komeito chief lashes out at Soka Gakkai" -- about former Komeito party chairman Junya Yano's criticism of the Buddhist organization -- quoted many of Mr. Yano's allegations without checking their veracity. As legal counsel for several individuals engaged in lawsuits against Mr. Yano, I would like to offer another perspective.
The article did note that, in December 2007, the Tokyo District Court ruled against Mr. Yano concerning his claims that he was pressured to hand over notebooks containing his personal memoirs to three former Komeito lawmakers who are my clients. This ruling clearly shows that his claims are untrue, stating: "The claims of coercion and threat that the Defendant Yano testified about were unfounded," and "Yano voluntarily decided to hand the schedule notebooks and documents to the plaintiffs. The claims that the plaintiffs forcibly seized and took away the schedule notebooks and documents from him were unfounded."
While Mr. Yano has appealed this District Court ruling, we are confident that it will be upheld and that all other allegations made by him against leaders of Soka Gakkai, whom I also represent, will similarly be disproved in court.