Hitoshi Matsumoto and publisher Bungeishunju Ltd. have agreed to drop a lawsuit filed by Matsumoto over a weekly magazine article alleging the comedian forced two women to have sex.

Matsumoto, 61, filed the lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court in January, seeking 550 million yen ($3.6 million) in damages. He also sought an article to correct the original one that appeared in Shukan Bunshun magazine in December 2023.

Both Matsumoto and Bungeishunju released statements on November 8 regarding their agreement to the lawsuit.

In her statement, Matsumoto offered her sincere apologies to all the women who attended the party reported in the magazine article for any hurt or discomfort they may have experienced there.

At the same time, he confirmed that there is no direct physical evidence to support the allegation that he forced the women to perform sexual acts. He added that no money was given to the two women.

According to sources, Bungeishunju agreed to have Matsumoto withdraw the lawsuit after consulting with the two women whose allegations appeared in the magazine article.

The lawsuit said the article was based on grossly sloppy reporting, containing only one-sided statements without presenting any objective evidence to support its claims.

The compensation was to cover the TV shows and commercials that Matsumoto had to give up due to the controversy that followed the publication of the article.

Multiple sources said the two sides had been in talks that began this summer outside of court proceedings related to the lawsuit.