Britney Spears stalking claim to be dismissed - Spears stalking: A 'misunderstanding'

Britney Spears stalking claim to be dismissed
Thursday, April 17, 2003 Posted: 5:20 PM EDT (2120 GMT)

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Britney Spears' request for a restraining order against a Japanese fan will be dismissed as part of an out-of-court agreement between both parties, court officials said Wednesday.

Masahiko Shizawa's attorney had said Spears' misunderstood his client's interest in her. "He's not a stalker," Simon R. Hiller said during a February hearing. "He's an avid fan."

In asking for a court order keeping Shizawa at least 1,000 yards from her, the 21-year-old pop star said he had sent hundreds of love letters and photographs and tracked her to her homes in Louisiana and California. She said one photo bore the words, "I'm chasing you."

Hiller said Shizawa, a 41-year-old computer programmer and inventor, returned to Japan when his visa expired but wanted to resolve the issue so he could eventually return to the United States.

Spears' attorney Joel R. Strote was out of his office Wednesday and unavailable for comment, associates said.

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Spears stalking: A 'misunderstanding'
Sunday, January 26, 2003 Posted: 3:12 AM EST (0812 GMT)

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Britney Spears' troubles with an alleged Japanese stalker, accused of sending love notes to the pop princess, are due to a "cultural misunderstanding," according to the man's lawyer.

Spears, 21, is seeking a restraining order against Masahiko Shizawa, 41, of Yokohama, Japan, claiming he had sent her photos of himself and a note saying "I'm chasing you." But Shizawa's lawyer told a brief court hearing that the legal fray was due to a "cultural misunderstanding."

" He's a VIP in Japan. He had no intent" to disturb her, lawyer Simon Hiller said, without expanding his remarks. Shizawa was not in court for Friday's hearing on the request for the restraining order, which was delayed for a month. Spears' lawyer declined to comment on the case, which will now be heard on February 28.

According to the syndicated TV show "Celebrity Justice," he has been forced to return to Japan, where he is reportedly a millionaire computer programmer, after his U.S. visa expired, and has twice been stopped while trying to return to the United States.

Spears has asked that Shizawa be kept 1,000 yards (915 metres) away from her house, workplace, car and any other place that she might travel to. She alleges in court papers that Shizawa has been stalking her since last September, tracking her to the homes of her divorced parents, her California home, and a home she owns outside the state.

The "Oops! I did it again" star, who was the teen pop phenomenon of the late 1990s, is currently taking a break from the recording business after five years at the top.