Anime News

Manga Shoplifting Lawsuit
Date: 2/25/2005
A female office worker who allegedly shoplifted 15,000 Yen worth of manga from a bookstore in Tokyo got an unsuspected surprise when besides criminal charges she was slapped with a lawsuit for the purported theft. The plantif were was asking for 230,000 Yen or more in the judgement, however a settlement was reached to the tune of 70,000 Yen was announced on Friday in Japan. This is the first instance in Japan in which a bookstore has used a lawsuit of this type in crime prevention of shoplifting. The female office worker reportedly stole at least 38 comic books and was selling them off to second-hand bookshops. Damages to bookstores in Japan stemming from shoplifting equal about 2.1 million Yen a year according to a nationwide investigation of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in 2002.
Source: Anime News Service