Japan karate expert who broke jaw of haunted house ghost loses lawsuit

A karate expert in Japan, who broke a haunted house worker’s jaw with a kick in 2011, has lost his 13 year long lawsuit against the amusement park where the incident took place. The Osaka High Court’s recent ruling dismissed the man’s claims that the park was partly responsible for the altercation.

According to SCMP, the incident occurred at Toei Kyoto Studio Park in Kyoto while the karate expert, who remains unnamed, was visiting with colleagues. Before entering the haunted house, the man admitted to consuming alcohol.

Once inside, he was startled when a park employee, dressed as a ghost, stepped forward to frighten him. The karate expert reacted by kicking the “ghost” in the face, breaking the worker’s jaw. The man later claimed that his actions were a reflex.

The injured worker filed a lawsuit seeking compensation, and a settlement was reached in 2015. The karate expert agreed to pay 10 million yen (£52,534) in damages. However, the man later pursued legal action against the park’s managing company, arguing that they were also responsible for the incident and should cover a portion of the damages.

In his lawsuit, the karate expert argued that the park had been negligent by failing to train its staff to prevent such attacks from visitors. He also contended that the park should have prevented him from entering the attraction, given that he had been drinking.

Despite these arguments, the Osaka High Court ruled against the karate expert. The court concluded that his kick, which resulted in the worker’s injury, was an overreaction and went “beyond the scope of a reflexive action taken out of sheer fear.” The court emphasized that the haunted house’s ghostly staff were meant to surprise visitors, but not in a way that would provoke physical violence.

The judges found “it is difficult to find any justifiable motive or logical rationale” for the karate expert’s actions, concluding that the park was not liable for the incident.

The court stated, “While it is true that the aim of the staff portraying the ghosts is to surprise customers, this is done with the understood principle that the haunted house is something that can be safely enjoyed.”