“Judges must have the dignity to earn the respect and trust of the people.”
A Japanese judge who was impeached for posting several inappropriate posts on social networking services (SNS), including slandering the bereaved family of a murder case, has been dismissed. This is the first case in Japan where a judge was impeached due to a social media post.
According to local media such as Kyodo News on the 4th, the Japanese National Assembly Impeachment Court decided on the 3rd to dismiss Judge Kiichi Okaguchi (岡口基一, 58).
According to Kyodo News, former Judge Okaguchi cannot appeal his impeachment decision and is banned from practicing law for at least five years.
The impeachment court ruled that “several of his posts amounted to significant misconduct.” He also pointed out that the act of continuing to post on social media even after receiving protests from the murder victim's family "exceeded the permitted range of freedom of expression."
The impeachment court noted that former Judge Okaguchi's SNS activities did not mean that he intentionally tried to hurt the bereaved family, but said that the decision to dismiss was made considering the weight of the judge's position.
The impeachment court said, “In order for a trial to play its role in resolving disputes, public trust is essential,” and “judges must have the dignity to earn the respect and trust of the public.”
This is the first time since 2013 that a judge has been dismissed through an impeachment trial in Japan. This brings the number of judges dismissed since the Pacific War to eight. Previous reasons for judges being dismissed included children, prostitution, and illegal filming.
Former Judge Okaguchi posted a link to the court website where you can see the verdict in the 2017 murder case of a minor, and said, 'A man with a temper tantrum who gets sexually aroused by the sight of a woman suffering from strangulation. A 17-year-old woman was brutally murdered by such a man,' she posted on her X (old Twitter).
When the bereaved family protested, he wrote in 2018, "I am making a mistake," and in 2019, on the date of Mr. A's death, he posted, "The bereaved family was brainwashed by the Tokyo High Court and the newspaper company to condemn me."
Former Judge Okaguchi has received several warnings from the Tokyo High Court for his excessive use of social media. In 2018, he received a ‘censure’ from the Supreme Court.
However, in the lawsuit seeking compensation filed by the bereaved family, the court ruled in favor of former Judge Okaguchi.
Last January, the Tokyo High Court overturned the first trial ruling ordering compensation to be paid and dismissed the bereaved family's claim. This is because the statute of limitations for damages has passed. However, it was ruled that the act of posting on social media and hurting the bereaved family was “unlawful.”