Regarding the Conviction of Freelance Writer Zenro Fujikura (High Court Ruling)

Freelance writer Zenro Fujikura, who had been repeatedly notified by our organization of being banned from entering our facilities and events, trespassed into our facility (First Turning of the Wheel Memorial Hall) without permission in January 2018 and took unauthorized photographs inside the hall where photography is prohibited. As a result of our organization filing a damage report with the police, a criminal trial for trespassing was held, and on June 28, 2023, the Tokyo High Court dismissed Fujikura's appeal. Consequently, the district court's conviction of Fujikura for trespassing (a fine of 100,000 yen with a two-year suspended sentence) on March 15, 2021, was upheld.

In this High Court ruling, it was stated that:
① The freedom of reporting is not without any restrictions, and there is a need to adjust the rights with those being reported on,
② Those being reported on are not obligated to endure such reporting,
③ The decision of whom to allow entry is fundamentally at the discretion of the manager (Happy Science), but the degree to which the defendant's (Fujikura's) entry contradicted the prior notification of being banned from related facilities by Happy Science was high,
④ The actions taken upon entry, such as filming in areas with signs stating "Unauthorized reporting, recording, and filming are strictly prohibited," disturbed the peace of the facility,
and thus, the defendant's entry could not be justified, and there was no error in the original judgment (district court ruling).

Our group's comment regarding this matter is as follows.

Happy Science Group Public Relations Bureau