SHORT TAKES : Japanese Accuse Ringling Bros. of Big Fraud Under the Big Top
A Japanese company has filed a multimillion-dollar suit against Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, accusing it of taking to heart the old circus adage, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
The Japanese Education Corp. filed the suit in Tokyo District Court asking for $16.5 million in damages against “The Greatest Show on Earth,” accusing it of fraud by substituting second-rate performers and animal trainers during the circus’ 1989 tour of Japan.
A spokesman for the circus denied the charges.
When Ringling Bros. first came to Japan in July, 1988, it marked the first overseas venture ever by an American “Big Top” circus and was ballyhooed for its “amazing elephants, strange clowns and beautiful showgirls.”
Charging $50 per ticket for adult fare, the circus proved a smash on its 15-week run that began in Sapporo in northern Japan and later enthralled audiences in Tokyo and Osaka.
In the suit filed Wednesday, the company accused Ringling Bros. of pulling a “swindling act” this year by replacing its first-string performers with less talented substitutes.
Because of the lackluster performances, the suit said, audiences plummeted from an average of 2,700 people last year to 860 this year.
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