OTARU ONSEN LAWSUIT
WRITTEN AND ORAL TESTIMONIES BY PLAINTIFFS
INDEX PAGE FOR HEARING SEVEN
MARCH 11, 2002, SAPPORO DISTRICT COURT
By Plaintiffs Ken Sutherland, Olaf Karthaus and Arudou Debito)


(click here to go to the Otaru Lawsuit Index Page)

After filing suit on February 1, 2001, we finally had our day in court on March 11 of the following year. Each Plaintiff submitted written testimony (chinjutsusho) to The Court, outlining our feelings about the case and motives for suing. After being sworn in for oral testimony before the judge, our lawyer would walk us through our case, then the lawyers for the Defense (Onsen Yunohana and the City of Otaru) would cross-examine us.

Arudou went first, taking about all of his allotted fifty minutes. Karthaus took less than his allotted sixty minutes. Sutherland also took less than his allotted thirty minutes. The hearing ran between 1:30PM and 3:37 PM, adjourning about fifty minutes ahead of schedule.

The headlines: We made our case, and believe it went well. The lawyer for Defendant Yunohana tried in vain to portray us as harassers of his client, i.e. troublemakers with no actual intention of taking a bath even if we had been let in (we replied that we bought our tickets and would have gone in if permitted), and thus not victims of any "mental duress" (seishinteki kutsuu). The lawyer for Defendant Otaru City did not ask Plaintiffs any questions. See Court Oral Testimonies link immediately following.

Click to proceed to:

Also, here is a link to a short article on our testimony from Hokkaido Shinbun, March 12, 2002, Morning Edition, page 30 (Jp text).

We hope this information will assist people out there who also wish to claim their rights in court. Lots more information and background on this case available in English and Japanese at the Otaru Lawsuit Index Page.

--Plaintiffs Karthaus, Sutherland, and Arudou, March 12, 2002