A Yen for Futons: Court Orders Woman To Pay One Million Yen For Unreasonable Futon Hitting

Now this is a nuisance case that has a uniquely Japanese character. Judge Akihiro Takemura of the Osaka District Court has ordered a 63-year-old woman to pay 1 million yen in damages to a 72-year-old neighbor for years of noisy futon pounding.

The woman had agreed earlier to a settlement in April 2005 that limited her to hitting her futons no more than twice a day and not more than 10 minutes or longer at a time. She also was barred from hitting futons between 6 p.m. and 9 a.m.

She proceeded to go back to her old futon-hitting ways and was brought to court again. Takemura cited an unstated standard of reasonable futon hitting: “The futon hitting exceeded the limit that social norms dictate could reasonably be withstood, and infringed on the victim’s rights. Additionally, the defendant did not take sincere efforts to respond (to the victim’s complaints).”

Source: Mainichi