Photo/Illutration The Chiba District Court (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The Chiba District Court ordered the operator of Tokyo Disneyland to pay a theme park cast member 880,000 yen ($7,224) in damages on March 29 for failing to address her harsh working environment.

A female employee at the theme park had brought the lawsuit against Oriental Land Co. seeking damages of 3.3 million yen, arguing she suffered from poor health after being bullied by her bosses at work.

The 41-year-old woman had performed as a cast member in Disney character shows while in costume at the park.

The presiding judge said that the theme park operator violated its obligation of arranging a better work environment.

After the ruling was handed down and the court adjourned, the woman placed her head on the desk and broke down in tears.

“The court acknowledged my voice--that what was wrong was wrong,” the woman said at a news conference after the ruling. “I was really happy about it.”

According to the ruling, the woman tried to claim worker’s compensation after sustaining a finger injury in 2013.

At that time, her boss chastised her for being mentally weak. After that, she started to hyperventilate at work and suffered from other symptoms.

The woman started to frequently ask for favors when it came to casting because of her poor health, but then her co-performers started to complain about her being too picky.

She became isolated at work and turned to another boss for help. But that boss said to her, “You are doing this for money, so have a little more patience. If you can’t bear with it, leave this job right now.”

The woman complained about the harsh working conditions in her court hearing.

“Even when I nearly fell down because of heatstroke or a lack of oxygen, I was performing very hard with a lot of patience not to shatter the dreams of guests and to stay in character,” she said. “I wanted the company to be the first one to understand it.”

The plaintiff had argued that what her bosses said to her constituted power harassment. However, the court said, “It cannot be said that what they said was unlawful.”

On the other hand, the ruling also said that the company “did not arrange a better working environment” and left things unchanged.

“The plaintiff came under harsh scrutiny in her workplace and suffered mental anguish,” it said.

Oriental Land commented following the ruling that it was “truly regrettable that part of our argument was rejected.”

The woman stopped working there about four years ago, but she wants to return.

“I have really wanted to work there since my childhood. I finally made my dream come true,” she said. “I hope that the company will create a working environment to allow its employees to say confidently that it is the ‘Kingdom of Dreams and Magic,’ even for them.”

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