A 23-year-old ex-Japanese idol, who was sued for dating a fan, has won the case. It was an act that is against the provisions of the contract that she had signed with the unnamed talent agency.
The case, which got presided by a district judge, Katsuya Hara, involved the unnamed company and the woman (also unnamed). The woman entered into a mutual agreement with the talent agency so as to become one of the performers of the multi-performing idol group, Rocket News reported.
Therefore, the Japanese idol signed the contract with one of the provisions of it being, "if a performer was found to be dating a fan, they would get sued for damages." Nonetheless, she began dating a male fan around December 2013. About half a year later, she disclosed of her interest to quit and leave the idol unit. She even stopped showing up in concerts.
Once the company got aware of the contractually prohibited relationship, it filed a lawsuit against the couple, seeking 9.9 million yen (US$ 82,500) in compensation for violating the initial agreement.
After issuing his ruling on Jan. 18, Monday, judge Hara partially acknowledged the logic behind the production company's mindset; that of keeping the integrities of idols which fans desire better.
However, according to the Australian, the judge also acknowledged that people should come into terms with the fact that forbidding pop idols to date by claiming compensation for damages is overrated. Following this, he asserted that relationships are the right of every individual and everyone should exercise them to enrich their lives.
It has become a commonplace for Japanese pop groups to get enclosed in "No dating and "No sex" clauses and it is also not unheard of for the companies to sue individuals who violate the agreements.
Recently, a Tokyo district court ruled in favor of a talent agency over a member of an idol group who had violated the same rule. The court ordered the parents of the member to pay a compensation of 560,000 yen to the Tokyo-based agency. Although the agency had sought a whopping 5.09 million yen, Judge Akitomo Kojima upheld the view that the compensatory payment was aimed at covering some of the agency's cost for lessons and costumes.
In the meantime, Japanese lawmakers remain sharp-eyed on such matters. Watch a clip of a smilar story below:
