57-year-old game creator Yuji Naka arrested in Japan

I’m a little disappointed we haven’t seen Naka return to any of his SoMe accounts (I only really follow his Insta but it looks like his Twitter has been inactive as well).

I guess he’s just laying low, but it’s still a bit sad considering his impact on literally everyone here.

As I said before, I sincerely hope he’s doing well and his family is good.

 

He joined Threads last week I believe, so maybe he's thinking of coming back eventually.

 

You know fine well what would happen if he posted anything in a public forum.

 

Ah, you’re right. I remember getting a notification for it.

 

Yesterday, Naka tweeted for the first time since he was charged. He responded to the news that Yu Miyake, Dragon Quest's producer, was being re-assigned to the mobile division by accusing him of lying in court during his trial.

 

One of the first posts he liked after coming back was a Sonic and Tails Dragonball crossover artwork by Judy Totoya XD

 

Well, what a tweet to come back with - a potentially libellous one!

I'm not a lawyer, but as a journalist I am given training on relevant legal matters such as libel, and Japan's libel laws are relatively strict. Via Lexology, the crime itself consists of the following:

1. the harming of another person’s reputation;
2. by the publishing of a fact; and
3. where the special provision concerning public interest does not apply (Penal Code, article 230-2).

Note that there's no mention of truth there - unlike in the UK, it's possible to commit libel in Japan even if everything you've said is true. It's up to the claimant to prove that harm has been caused, though the link above points out that "if the claimant successfully proves that the defamatory expression was made publicly, they will usually be found to have incurred mental suffering, which will be covered by monetary compensation." This is an allegation of the crime of perjury, and a very public one at that, so it appears that the first two criteria have been met.

The third point, regarding public interest, is the only defence available. However, it has some stringent requirements:

• the fact is found to relate to a matter of public interest;
• publishing has been conducted solely for the benefit of the public; and
• the fact is substantially true or the defendant has reasonable grounds for believing the fact to be true.

An allegation of perjury is certainly a matter of public interest, but publishing damaging allegations about someone who gave evidence against you in court is clearly not a wholly public-spirited endeavour. As for the truth defence, we can't possibly know - but surely the evidence in question would have been challenged during the insider trading case, if Naka reasonably believed that it was false?

So as far as I can see, Miyake could sue if he fancied it, and he'd stand a reasonable chance of winning.