[Complete Victory for Happy Science] Verdict in Defamation Lawsuit by Weekly Bunshun and Hiroshi: Our Group Wins Seven Consecutive Lawsuits Against Hiroshi

Regarding the defamation lawsuit filed by Happy Science on March 4, 2020, seeking damages against Bungeishunju Ltd. and Hiroshi for publishing a false article in 'Weekly Bunshun' (February 28, 2019 issue) based on Hiroshi's falsehoods, the Tokyo District Court on May 24, 2023, ordered the defendants, Bungeishunju Ltd. and Hiroshi, to jointly pay 3.3 million yen to the plaintiff, delivering a ruling in favor of Happy Science. None of the claims of truthfulness by Bungeishunju Ltd. and Hiroshi were recognized.

In this ruling, the articles based on Hiroshi's falsehoods, such as 'forced marriage with Ms. Sengen,' 'quitting the agency for marriage and not going to the filming site,' 'mandatory admission to the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law,' 'universities other than Todai, Waseda, and Keio are not universities,' and 'nothing matters unless you are number one,' were all judged to lower the social evaluation of Happy Science, were not true, and there was no reasonable ground to believe them to be true.
Furthermore, Hiroshi's testimony was judged as 'undeniably unnatural' and 'not credible.'
Additionally, regarding Bungeishunju Ltd., it was judged that they should have conducted corroborative interviews with Happy Science affiliates, but there was no sufficient evidence to recognize that such interviews were conducted, and it was judged that the article was published relying solely on Hiroshi's statements.

We strongly urge Hiroshi, who has lost seven consecutive defamation lawsuits against our group (including district court, high court, and provisional injunction orders prohibiting street demonstrations), and Bungeishunju Ltd., who published Hiroshi's false statements without corroborative interviews, to sincerely accept this ruling and deeply repent and reflect.

Happy Science Group Public Relations Division