The lawyers for the plaintiff enter the Tokyo District Court on June 30. Yuri Murakami The Tokyo District Court rejected a lawsuit by a sex business operator seeking compensation because the government excluded the business from coronavirus relief grants.
The Kansai region-based operator that dispatched sex workers had sought about 4.5 million yen $33,000 from the central government for unpaid grants and compensation because of the exclusions in Article 14 of the government ensuring equality under the law.
The ruling is believed to be the first regarding a sex-related business trying to get a COVID 19 government grant.
The business had no ties to organized crime and had always paid its requisite taxes, according to the plaintiff.
The public wouldn't understand why grants were being distributed to such businesses, according to government lawyers.
The grant program was designed to help small businesses struggling financially because of the effects of the pandemic.
Local governments, political organizations and religious groups were not included in the subsidy program.