Osaka mayor sues tabloid over claims he received sex in brothel quarter

OSAKA (TR) – In a trial that began at the Osaka District Court on Friday, Osaka mayor Toru Hashimoto is suing for libel over a report in a tabloid that claimed he received adult entertainment in a red-light district, reports Sankei Sports (May 16).

Hashimoto is seeking 11 million yen in compensation from publisher Bungeisha, whose weekly tabloid Shukan Bunshun reported in its May 30 issue last year that the mayor received sex services courtesy of the management association of the Tobita Shinchi brothel quarter while he was employed as a legal adviser.

“It is not a fact that I received sex services as a form of business entertainment,” read Hashimoto’s claim.

Prior to entering the political world in 2007, Hashimoto practiced corporate and entertainment law.