See you in court
In another sign that Japan is, for better or for worse, becoming a more litigious society, the Tokyo District Court has ordered the Japan Racing Association to pay a man 2.64 million yen in damages for injuries that he suffered after slipping on a highly polished floor at one of the association’s off-track betting establishments.
“Granite on the floors had been polished so brightly you could see reflections and when it rained there was always a chance of falls,” Presiding Judge Ken Fujishita said as he handed down the ruling.
JRA had fought the suit, saying that it had operated the facility for 18 years and never had a fall, but the court ruled that it was at least partly to blame for the man’s fall and ordered it to compensate him.
The man had demanded 8.3 million yen in his suit.
Poor Mari….she’s my favorite. If I ever become a j-pop singer and part of the...
Shes definitely at the top of my hot list.
perfeckt 10:10
Once again Japan seeks to emulates the dark side of America.
September 28th, 2006 at 11:04 ampapa: While I’ll agree with you that the number of fivolous lawsuits in the US is out of hand, I think in your above comment you have overlooked the fact that in Japan there is virtually no practical legal recourse when problems arise.
People can sue, but the court generally meets once a month on any given case, meaning a decision may take several years — if not a decade — to come down. And in cases of liability or personal damages, monetary awards are generally in the tens of thousands of dollars range, though sometimes in the hundreds of thousands, though this is rare.
And the legal costs of the plaintiff are never ordered paid by the defendant, even if the defendant loses. Apparently, the courts feel that even if a person is the victim of a wrongful action, he or she must bear the financial burden of having that fact publically proven in a court of law.
The civil court system in Japan seems purposefully designed to discourage people from litigating. While I don’t think Japan should open the court system to every Tom, Dick or Mary who spills take-out coffee on his or her crotch, I do think a lot of improvements need to be made.
September 28th, 2006 at 11:20 amI used to walk on a polished walkway like that on my way to work, and I slipped several times. Everytime I thought “they couldn’t get away with this crap in the US.”
It’s easier to count up frivolous lawsuits than prevented injuries and deaths.
September 28th, 2006 at 12:42 pmI must admit that Kudan’s assessment of the Japanese legal system is better than my hasty remark. I just hope that for once Japan can find a solution to the problem that avoids the abuses we see in the U.S.
September 28th, 2006 at 3:03 pmMister Wake – what’s happened to your blog?
September 28th, 2006 at 8:15 pmKudan, I hope you’re not referring the case of Stella Liebeck suing McDonald’s many years ago. That case was not frivolous. She suffered third-degree burns and needed skin grafts, along with hospitalization and rehabilitation. If you think coffee should be hot enough to do that, then I don’t know what else to say to you.
October 1st, 2006 at 5:50 pm