The fifth hearing was held at 11:00 a.m. on February 20, 2026, in Courtroom 103 of the Tokyo District Court.

The plaintiff submitted a request for party examination and witness examination , and also submitted the fourth preparatory brief .

In response to the submission of evidence, the defendant stated to the court by telephone during the hearing that there was no need for it, and this opinion was conveyed to the plaintiff through the court.

At the hearing, the court again requested confirmation of the defendant's opinion, and the defendant's attorney responded that they would be happy to state their reasons, but only briefly stated that there was no need for them. The plaintiff's attorney then stated that they should clarify their reasons, and the court also said that if they were happy to do so, they should state their reasons. In response, the defendant's attorney gave some more specific reasons, such as that there was no dispute over the external facts.

The plaintiff's attorney pointed out that the defendant's arguments regarding the issues at issue and the core issues considered by the court were unclear, and that the defendant's arguments regarding necessity were unconvincing, and that the defendant should submit written arguments if necessary.

Taking into account the opinions of both parties, the court temporarily suspended the hearing for deliberation, and after resuming the hearing, it decided to question the three defendants, while rejecting the request to question the presiding judge and other witnesses who issued the order.

In light of the above, the next hearing will be held in person. The date for the hearing will be determined at a later date.

The third oral argument was held in Courtroom 103 of the Tokyo District Court from 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 11, 2025.

The plaintiff submitted the third preparatory brief and submitted Exhibits 37 to 42 ( Evidence Explanation (3) ).

Exhibits 37 to 42 are all statements from people other than the plaintiff who were involved in attending the hearing at the time in question in this case.

Based on these findings, the plaintiffs claim that all of the actions of the presiding judge that were the subject of question at this hearing were coercive.

The next hearing is scheduled for February 24, 2026, starting at 11:00 AM.

The third oral argument hearing was held at 11:00 a.m. on October 2, 2025, in Courtroom 103 of the Tokyo District Court.

During the hearing, the defendant submitted a written rebuttal . Also, although it was not originally planned, because there was a gap between the receipt of the written rebuttal and the hearing, the plaintiff submitted a written rebuttal summarizing the current arguments between the parties.

The defendants' brief makes two main claims. First, they argue that the presiding judges never issued an order in the first place. They claim that the staff members asked "What would you like to do?" and encouraged voluntary action, even though they knew that wearing socks or a hoodie would not allow them to attend the trial. Second, they claim that wearing these items constitutes "improper conduct." We believe both claims are absurd.

At this hearing, the court asked us about our plans for future arguments and proof, and we replied that in order to prove that there had been no exchanges such as "what will we do," we would submit statements from people who were also in attendance that day, and that we planned to submit a written argument that would generally refute the defendant's written argument.

The next hearing has been scheduled for December 11th at 2:00 pm. We hope you will be able to attend.

The first hearing was held on February 13, 2025 at 10:30 a.m. in Courtroom 103 of the Tokyo District Court.

Many people lined up from early in the morning to take part in the lottery for spectator tickets. Thank you very much.

At the hearing, the plaintiffs' attorney, Mizuno, presented a summary of the lawsuit. He showed the plaintiffs' rainbow socks, hoodies with the word "HAKAMADA" written on them, and badges, sometimes to the audience, and explained that wearing these items did not disrupt the order of the courtroom in any way.

In addition, the plaintiffs, Suzuki Masaru, Shimizu Kazuto, and Ogawa Hideyo, each expressed their opinions on the fact that they were ordered by the presiding judge to remove or hide the clothing and accessories they were wearing. I believe that each person's thoughts on wearing important items in court were conveyed to the court. In response, the government only made a formal statement in a written reply.

This hearing was also included in CALL4's courtroom observation tour, and many of the tour participants also attended the hearing.

After the session, we held a brief presentation and Q&A session for the participants in the lobby on the first floor. Many people enthusiastically asked questions.

Afterwards, he held a press conference at the Judicial Press Club, which was reported by several media outlets.

・Yahoo!News: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/69b65fa4c9f4f7468ce8f8f52261cc160994d126
・Kyodo News: https://nordot.app/1262659368076198599?c=302675738515047521
・Nippon Television: https://news.ntv.co.jp/category/society/b7c18512c40142ba909069c280e83222

・TV Asahi: https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp/news_society/articles/000404420.html

・Abema: https://topics.smt.docomo.ne.jp/article/abematimes/nation/abematimes-10163956
・Tokyo Shimbun: https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/385634

We also held a public recording session for a YouTube video, which was also attended by many people.

The plaintiffs and their representatives are reporting on the details of the hearings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKTRz4cFJBY

The next hearing will be held on June 3rd at 2:30 pm. We look forward to seeing many people at the hearing again.