The Yomiuri Giants filed a lawsuit against Bungeishunju on Wednesday for an article they published about Tatsunori Hara.  They are seeking 30 million yen in damages and a printed public apology.

Bungeishunju published an article in June about Hara getting blackmailed into paying 100 million yen to a former gang member to keep details of a past affair from becoming public.  They also wrote that the Giants tried to protect Hara by saying the other person had no connections to antisocial groups because they were concerned he could be banned for breaking the baseball agreement.

The Giants countered by saying that they explained the situation as they understood it at the time.  They also said that Hara, the victim, did nothing to break the baseball agreement and that there was no truth to the team purposely lying.

The Bungeishunju editorial department is confident their information is entirely accurate.

Source: Nikkan Sports 12/13/2012, Daily Sports 12/13/2012