Japanese 11-year-old elementary school student leaked personal information of classmate, judge awards 400,000 yen in damages

A female junior high school student in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, leaked the personal information of another female classmate on an online forum from April to May last year when she was still in the sixth grade of elementary school. The Nagoya District Court judge believed that although she was only 11 years old at the time of the crime, she was still legally responsible, and therefore ordered her to compensate the victim 400,000 yen (approximately NT$82,000).

According to the "Yomiuri Shimbun" report, the female student disclosed the name and school information of her female classmates three times in a row at the South Korean pop music star's fan online club. After discovering the incident, the victim was dissatisfied that her privacy had been violated and sought compensation of 1.6 million yen (approximately NT$330,000) from the girl involved and her parents.

In this regard, the defense lawyer pointed out that the girl was only 11 years old at the time and did not have full capacity for civil conduct. Moreover, she was using a tablet computer issued by the school. It was impossible for her parents to supervise what content she posted at all times.

However, the trial judge, Otake Keito, believed that the school could not have failed to educate students about the importance of personal information. The girl involved in the case had sufficient cognitive ability to understand the responsibilities for her actions. Therefore, she was sentenced to pay 400,000 yen in compensation, and her parents were not required to jointly and severally compensate.