Shinsuke Shimada fined 10 million yen in assault case

The lawsuit involving talento Shinsuke Shimada’s 2004 assault incident finally came to a close on Tuesday, as the Tokyo District Court ordered him and his agency Yoshimoto Kogyo to pay approximately 10 million yen in damages to the plaintiff.

In October 2004, Shimada was at a television studio in Osaka when one of Yoshimoto Kogyo’s female employees tried to initiate a conversation with him. He reportedly took offense at her speech and conduct, and he later pulled her into a dressing room where he proceeded to beat her and spit on her. The assault was treated as a summary offense, and in December 2004 an Osaka judge issued a fine of 300,000 yen.

The woman later filed the lawsuit on several claims, including an argment that Shimada’s public statements about the incident were inconsistent with the truth and negatively affected her reputation. However, that claim was not upheld in court, along with another claim related to her employment.

Shimada, who was a former delinquent, did not argue the woman’s claim regarding the assault, but the central issue of contention in the lawsuit was the size of the fine. The woman sought roughly 100 million yen in damages, but the judge ultimately decided on the estimated 10 million yen fine. That amount covers expenses such as her medical treatment, as well as Yoshimoto Kogyo’s liability as an employer.

After the ruling, Shimada expressed his desire to once again apologize for the incident. Yoshimoto Kogyo said that it plans to take measures to prevent such an incident from happening again.

Source:
Sankei Sports