Japanese media said it was the first decision by the nation’s top court involving the « right to be forgotten » relating to Internet searches.
« The deletion (of references to the charge) can be allowed only when the value of privacy protection clearly outweighs that of information disclosure, » the court said in a statement posted on its website.
Tuesday’s decision came after the Saitama District Court, north of Tokyo, in December 2015 upheld a temporary injunction against Google ordering it to delete search results about a man convicted on charges related to child prostitution and pornography.