On April 14 1997, the Tokyo Prosecutor’s Office announced that the death of the late Councilwoman Asaki could not be considered a murder case because there was no evidence indicating a crime and “the probability of suicide is too high.”
On May 15, 2001, the Tokyo High Court upheld a lower court ruling that Daito and Naoko Asaki willfully defamed the Soka Gakkai. The Soka Gakkai had filed the suit shortly after the tabloid articles appeared in the fall of 1995.
On May 18, 2001, the same court upheld earlier defamation rulings against the company that published the articles, Kodanasha, and former editor, Hasajiko Motoki, stating that they had “fostered the impression that the councilwoman’s death was not a suicide but a crime, with the Soka Gakkai illegally involved.”
On Oct. 29, 2002, the Tokyo Supreme Court dismissed the final appeal of both cases. The court ordered payment of damages and Kodansha to publish a retraction. (The official apology did not appear until March 8, 2003.)
