Joji Nagahara, the mayor of Oto Town in Fukuoka Prefecture, successfully sued the online media outlet, Hunter, for defamation after it published articles claiming that he had ties to the designated gangster organization, Taishukai. The Fukuoka District Court ruled on November 13 that while some elements of the articles were not proven true, the portrayal of Nagahara as a 'gangster's subordinate' led to damages against his reputation. The court ordered Hunter to pay 550,000 yen in compensation but did not mandate the removal of the articles or a formal apology, citing the limited impact of the articles.

After the ruling, Nagahara expressed gratitude for the acknowledgment of his defamation claim but demanded the prompt removal of the articles. In contrast, Jun-Nori Nakugaji, the owner of Hunter, expressed bewilderment at a ruling that required monetary payment but did not necessitate an apology or the deletion of the articles. The articles under scrutiny were published between September 2022 and June 2023, mentioning Nagahara's participation in a golf competition hosted by Taishukai and suggesting a deep-seated connection between him and the group, which the court found insufficiently substantiated.

The court acknowledged the mayor's participation in the golf event as a fact but found no compelling evidence linking his relationship with the organizers or participants closely enough to substantiate the claims made in the articles. It also highlighted logical inconsistencies regarding claims about his property purchases from relatives of key figures in the organization, stating that such connections were too tenuous to warrant the implications presented in the articles.