A group of magicians has filed a lawsuit against Nippon Television Network (NTV) and TV Asahi, demanding 1.98 million yen in compensation and an apology from the broadcasters for revealing the secrets behind coin tricks.

The group of 49 amateur and professional magicians filed the suit in the Tokyo District Court after the television networks explained the tricks when reporting on the arrest of the manufacturers of magic coins.

“Magic tricks are the collective property of magicians, and that should be protected by law,” a member of the group said, commenting on the lawsuit.

The broadcasters repeatedly reported on a case in which four people from a magic goods manufacturer in Osaka were arrested for making holes in coins, thereby violating a law against damaging currency, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit said that the television stations had introduced several gimmick coins, and revealed magic secrets in their reports, such as how cigarettes were passed through the coins. They also allegedly took secret footage of performances by those arrested, and aired it.

The plaintiffs claim that the value of their tricks diminished as a result of the broadcasts.

“The reports were screened to get viewer ratings, and the proprietary value of gimmick coins decreased as a result. It has become harder to do coin tricks, and as magicians, our reputation was damaged,” a group representative said.

Shintaro Fujiyama, a professional magician representing the group, said protests had proved ineffective.

“The television stations repeatedly revealed the tricks, and when we protested we ended up nowhere,” Fujiyama said.

A public relations official for NTV said the lawsuit had not arrived, and declined to comment.

TV Asahi officials said they believed there was nothing wrong with the station’s broadcasts, and said the network would decide on a response after carefully reading the claims made against it.

(每日新闻)