Tecmo Files Gag Order Against Team Ninja Chief

Embattled Japanese developer Tecmo has filed for a gag order with the Tokyo District Court to restrict former Team Ninja lead Tomonobu Itagaki from speaking further about the several pending lawsuits against the company.

According to Kotaku, the order restricts Itagaki from disclosing or leaking information regarding Tecmo's software and development, using the media to criticize Tecmo products and employees, speaking to the press about Tecmo and making slanderous remarks to third parties.

The latest volley in the developing legal tumult between Tecmo and virtually its entire workforce, the gag order was almost certainly prompted by the Ninja Gaiden II director's very public announcement of his resignation and legal action against the company.

More than three dozen Tecmo employees have reportedly left the company since Itagaki's departure and legal action. Yesterday, two more Tecmo employees—including the head of the company's labor division—filed a suit on behalf of the entire workforce alleging that the company instituted an illegal "flexible hours" scheme to avoid paying its employees overtime.