Japanese billionaire Maezawa Yusaku announced on May 15 that he has sued Facebook Japan and Meta, the US tech giant that operates Facebook, over scam advertisements on social media that used photos of celebrities to solicit investments.

Maezawa has been calling on Meta to remove such advertisements, saying that they have unrightfully impersonated him.

However, claiming that the response was insufficient, Maezawa announced on X that he has filed a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court against Meta and Facebook Japan, seeking compensation for damages and an injunction against the advertisements.

Maezawa claimed that his portrait rights were violated when Meta and Facebook Japan allowed such ads to be posted.

He claimed 1 yen in damages, saying that he wanted to clarify whether the IT companies allowing such ads is illegal.