I know Japan’s libel laws are psychotic, but I’ve been wanting to get the word out about a particular place. As it’s the only place in Tokyo that explicitly provides the service it claims to provide, I can’t even vaguely say like “guys there’s this one [business] that does [service]” without immediately drawing the attention of the owner, and as someone who was personally fucked over it’s not like I could ever claim to solely be speaking out for the public good (which, I understand, is what I would have to prove to be acquitted).
Basically, there’s a mildly popular business opened by a guy who is kinda narcissistic which:
– explicitly doesn’t pay a lot of its workers (classic excuses: “not enough money” “we should be thankful for the opportunity” “[getting paid] is aspirational” etc)
– is awful to and exploitative of women (in many cases, the women are also unpaid) (there’s more but any extra details I provide would probably be a bit 身バレ)
– probably doesn’t do the due diligence to properly vet the visas and work situations of the people they do pay
And I dunno… I just feel powerless to do anything about it. If I wasn’t living here I’m sure I could just talk about it publicly and the worst they could do is get some injuncture to have the post deleted but eh. It sucks.
15 comments
All the boogie man talk about Japan’s libel laws is overblown. The tabloids publish all sorts of smut and rumors about celebrities, who can afford the best lawyers, and they are still in business.
Think about it rationally, is a random business really going to spend the time and effort and money chasing up a random comment on the internet?
If you’re really worried, post it via VPN on a throwaway or have a friend overseas post it on your behalf.
Don’t say anything incorrect, and don’t say anything that leads specifically to you. Done, net bitching okay 🙂
Have you filed a complaint with the labor department?
>I know Japan’s libel laws are psychotic
No, you don’t. You read about it on reddit.
I don’t understand why people seem to worry so much about this. Just use Tor? Post whatever you want, what are they going to do?
Sounds like they are breaking the law so report them if you have evidence. This is more than just bad customer service.
You could do it like an AMA, but people are asking you questions to gradually reveal the nature and location etc of the business. For example, “is it a sexual service?”
Not legal advice, but to minimize risk of libel or suffering a lawsuit, don’t make a judgment in your review, stick to things you perceived with your 5 senses.
I think, it gets sketchy, if you don’t have watertight proof of your accusations or base them on hearsay.
If, however, you have a clear case and can explain in a logical and unemotional way, what exactly happened, what the result of it was, why you’re not happy and how you suffered loss, damage or expense from it, then you should be fine, even if the shop owner is fuming and furious.
Considering how so many businesses here have negative google reviews for the pettiest reasons, I question how strict things are. Are there any cases of people being used for negative reviews and losing? I know there are times when they threaten to use and try to negotiate a settlement, but I’ve not heard a story of someone losing a lawsuit due to leaving a negative review.
Phrase it as a question.
Is XYZ KK the worst abuser of staff in Tokyo?
Who knows..? _(ツ)_/ ̄
Correct me if I’m wrong but it’s only lively if it’s untrue.
I think it’s better to report them for labour law violations.
Use a VPN. Simple like that.
Who the fuck cares. Here, I’ll go first.
Kan Kan Deli in Kobe has those little brown cockroaches in their dining room. One crawled across my table as I was eating dinner. I called over one of the staff to deal with it and this dumbass squished it with a napkin and then *held it up over my plate as he checked* to make sure he killed it. 0/10 fuck that garbage dump and their stupid wait staff.
This was several years ago. If anyone has been there recently, please share your experience.