Noriyuki Makihara wins lawsuit against Leiji Matsumoto

[Tokyograph News]

In March 2007, singer Noriyuki Makihara filed a lawsuit against mangaka Leiji Matsumoto after Matsumoto publicly accused him of plagiarism. Last Friday, the Tokyo District Court ruled in Makihara's favor, ordering Matsumoto to pay 2.2 million yen in damages. Makihara had originally sought 22 million yen.

The case started in 2006, when Matsumoto openly alleged that Makihara had lifted a line from "Galaxy Express 999" for use in the song "Yakusoku no Basho," which Makihara had written for CHEMISTRY. Matsumoto demanded an apology, but the singer consistently denied the claims. After months of repeated accusations, Makihara took the issue to court, arguing that Matsumoto had damaged his reputation.

A trial was never actually held to determine whether Makihara was guilty of plagiarism, but the judge commented that the two quotes were sufficiently different in meaning.

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