Man Fined for Telling Woman She Looks Like Coronavirus

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:36 JST, January 17, 2023

A man who insulted a woman by telling her, “You’ve got a face like the coronavirus” was fined by the Fukuoka Summary Court on Tuesday.

According to the ruling, the man in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture, publicly insulted the woman on board an aircraft parked at Fukuoka Airport in February 2021. When she warned him that his mask wasn’t covering his mouth, he replied with the offending phrase. The man, who is 68 years old and owns a company, was indicted for defamation.

In the ruling, the court found that the remark had indeed been made and sentenced the man to a fine of ¥9,000, as requested by prosecutors.