Readers and authors alike are now calling for accountability.
A massive scandal unfurled during the weekend surrounding Shogakukan, one of the largest manga publishers in Japan, and its digital manga reading platform Manga One, when it was discovered that the company had rehired the writer Kazuaki Kurita (using the pen name Hajime Ichiro), after being indicted for sexually assaulting a minor in 2020. Other conflicting reports however, name the author as Yamamoto Soichi.
The information came to light when Manga One released a formal statement on its X (formerly Twitter) account and Shogakukan's official website, detailing the suspension of Kurita's current serialisation, Jojin Kamen, which has been in digital publication since 2022.
The statement, through a machine translation, reads:
Explanation and apology regarding the suspension of publication of "Jojin Kamen"
Regarding "Jojin Kamen," we have stopped distribution and shipment of the series due to problems with the original author's hiring decision and the verification system.
The original author, Ichiro Hajime, is the same person Yamamoto Shoichi (Kurita Kazuaki), the author of Daten Sakusen.
In 2020, Mr. Yamamoto was arrested, summarily indicted, and fined, and in light of this, the serialization of "Daten Sakusen" has been discontinued.
However, in 2022, the Manga One editorial department began a new series, "Jojin Kamen," based on an original work by Ichiro Hajime. He should never have been appointed as the original author. Above all, we sincerely apologize to those who have been affected. As an editorial department, we take our responsibility very seriously.
We would like to offer our deepest apologies to our readers, Tsuruyoshi Eri, the illustrator of "Jojin Kamen," the other contributing authors, and all other related parties for the great concern and inconvenience caused by this matter.
Manga One Editorial Department
Regarding the settlement negotiations mentioned in the civil lawsuit between Kurita and the victim, the editorial department had no intention of being involved as an organization, but an editor did participate in a messaging app group at the request of both parties. The terms had already been discussed between the parties prior to participating, and the editor advised the parties to appoint a lawyer and have a notarized document prepared. It cannot be said that the editorial department was fully aware of the seriousness of the case or had sufficient information, and this was an inappropriate response. We would like to once again apologize and will work to prevent a recurrence.
An additional statement, made through the official account of Weekly Shonen Sunday, Shogakukan's shonen manga imprint, also divulged further information regarding the matter, specifically its verification process for hiring authors and artists:
Through a machine translation, the statement reads:
Regarding the Hiring of Original Authors on Manga One
The Manga One editorial team suspended the serialization of "Operation Fall from Heaven" after its author, Shoichi Yamamoto, was arrested and indicted via summary procedure for violating the Child Prostitution and Pornography Prohibition Act (manufacturing offense), resulting in a fine.
Despite this, we proceeded to hire him under a different pen name, "Ichiro Ichi," as the original author for the new serialization "Ordinary Person's Mask." This should not have happened originally.
Sexual assault, sexual exploitation, and all forms of human rights violations are absolutely unforgivable. In this case, due to serious flaws in the decision-making process for hiring the original author and in our verification system for "Ordinary Person's Mask," we have halted its distribution and stopped shipping the compiled volumes.
We recognize this as a grave incident for which the company bears management oversight responsibility, reflecting a lack of awareness regarding human rights and compliance.
To ensure such incidents never recur, we will promptly establish an investigative committee including lawyers to clarify the facts and causes, including the circumstances surrounding the start of serialization and the editor's involvement, including any settlement discussions.
Following that, we will issue a report on the investigation findings, impose strict disciplinary actions, and formulate and implement measures to prevent recurrence.
In this matter, above all else, we should have first considered the feelings of those who were victimized. We sincerely apologize from the bottom of our hearts for failing to empathize with their emotions. We also deeply apologize to Ms. Eri Tsuruyoshi, the illustrator of "Ordinary Person's Mask," to all the writers who have contributed to our various publications, and to all related parties, for betraying the trust we had built and causing them significant worry and inconvenience. And once again, we extend our apologies to all readers who have enjoyed Shogakukan's works.
Shogakukan
The 2020 indictment and aftermath
Trigger warning: this section of the article will contain details of sexual abuse. Reader discretion is advised.
The controversial author was revealed to have been formally charged for sexually assaulting a 15-year old student, through a report by Japanese news site Mainichi Okan, for a prolonged period of time back in 2020. The ruling of the Sapporo District Court, where the case was reviewed, ordered the author to pay JYP 11 million (US$71,000) in compensation.
Details of the sexual abuse was also made available through a detailed timeline published by manga creator Sumi Ena, whose work, “After God”, has been serialising in Manga One. Ena would later place “After God” on hiatus after the details of the controversy came to light.
Ena would reveal that Kurita was a drawing instructor at the Hokkaido Arts High School Sapporo Satellite Campus, in which he was accused of sexually assaulting several students. Ena alleged that the students would seek help from the school, but no action was taken.
Kurita's then 15-year old victim, who was called “Ms. A” during the court procedure, would enroll in the school in 2016, a year after his Daten Sakusen began serialisation. Ena alleged further that Kurita groomed his victim through his work as a manga writer, and in a period of three years, would horrifically assault the victim once or twice a month.
Details of the abuse can be read through a report published by Yahoo! Japan in February 2020, which included forcing her to commit degrading sexual acts for his amusement, like making her eat human excrement, and photographing her in compromising poses outdoors, as well as writing degrading words on her body like “teacher's slave” and “pet” with a marker.
The abuse continued even after the victim graduated high school and moved out of Hokkaido in 2019, as Kurita would demand that she send him obscene photographs of herself until July of that year. As a result of the horrific abuse, the victim developed severe Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).
The victim would later sue Kurita in February 2020, and he was found guilty of violating the prohibition on child prostitution and child pornography. In the same month, Daten Sakusen was put on hiatus due to court proceedings, but later resumed operations after Kurita's indictment. Ms. A would demand for the manga to be cancelled.
In 2021, an editor from Manga One, whom Ena named as “Narita” (it is believed that this “Narita” is Takuya Narita), stepped in to mediate between Kurita and Ms. A. Both editor and perpetrator offered the victim JPY 1.5 million (US$9,597,88 in today's conversion) to withdraw the demand for Daten Sakusen's cancellation, and to refrain from disclosing the sexual abuse.
In 2022, Ms. A filed a civil lawsuit against Kurita. In the same year in October, Daten Sakusen ended publication on Manga One.
This was not the end for Kurita's manga writing career however, as Ena alleged that Narita allowed Kurita to be rehired under a pseudonym, that being Hajime Ichiro. Again in the same year, Kurita would begin a new series, Jojin Kamen, in December. Kurita was never imprisoned due to the filing of the civil lawsuit in 2022.
Ena also named two other persons-of interests who allowed Kurita to be rehired: Hiroki Wada, who acted as Editor-in-Chief for Manga One until October 2022, and Fumitoshi Mameno, who stepped into the role after October 2022. Wada and Mameno have yet to release statements regarding the matter.
Additionally, the artist working on Jojin Kamen, Eri Tsuruyoshi, was kept in the dark regarding who Hajime Ichiro truly was. She released a statement on her X (formerly Twitter) account regarding the matter.
Through a machine translation:
First of all, we would like to sincerely apologize to all the readers who have supported "Jojin Kamen" for this situation occurring despite your support.
I was not informed of anything in advance about Mr. Yamamoto's case, and only found out about it through the news and social media.
I only met Mr. Yamamoto once at a Manga One meeting, and all communication was conducted through Mr. Narita, who was in charge. Regarding his activities under the name change, I assumed there must have been some circumstances behind it, and did not delve too deeply into it.
Therefore, I had no knowledge of the past incidents and it all came as a surprise to me.
The work is free precisely because it is fiction.
That is why I feel strongly that actions that hurt people in the real world should not occur.
We sincerely hope that the victims will be able to recover mentally and physically.
We would also like to once again apologize to our readers for causing concern.
Eri Tsurukichi
Manga One authors and artists demand accountability
As the scandal started to gain massive traction online, many artists and writers being published by Shogakukan through Manga One have also aired their distress and disapproval over the platform's decision of rehiring Kurita.
So far, these are the authors that have pulled their works from the platform or have suspended updates:
- Kanehito Yamada (Frieren: Beyond Journey's End) - unconfirmed, but various reports have cited as such
- Ryuhei Tamura (COSMOS)
- Haro Aso (Zom:100)
- Rumiko Takahashi (Inuyasha, Ranma ½. et al)
- Ikka Matsuki (Nippon Sangoku)
- Sumi Ena (AFTER GOD)
- Sumito Oowara (Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!)
While others associated with Manga One have released statements condemning the platform and Kurita, here are some that we have found:
- ONE (author of One Punch Man):
MANGA ONE. I can't team up with people who can't clearly state their strong condemnation of sexual harm against minors. That's a given. Waiting for the disclosure of circumstances by the relevant parties. I also want Shogakukan to support them if they take that action.
- Shirahama Kamome (Witch Hat Atelier)
Above all, I sincerely hope that the physical and emotional pain of the victim can be alleviated even a little, and that a sincere response is made to their demands. Additionally, I wish for appropriate compensation to be provided to the illustrator who suffered disadvantages as a result of being caught up in secondary harm, and to the manga creators who voluntarily withdrew their works from distribution.
- Ikka Matsuki (Nippon Sangoku)
We have received the statement from the editorial department in question and have discussed the matter with the responsible editor.
Regarding the statement, I feel that the intentions of the editors who were not involved in the aforementioned matter may not have been sufficiently reflected. In addition, despite the considerable time that was taken, I personally find it difficult to accept the fact that the text was revised in such a manner, as well as the decision to release it exclusively through the app in question.
As for my future activities, due to circumstances such as media mix projects, these cannot be decided solely by myself or the responsible editor. However, I have conveyed that, under the current circumstances, it would be difficult to continue the serialization with the editorial department in question or the publisher in question.
Furthermore, regarding the aforementioned matter, I will refrain from making any comments, prioritizing consideration for those who were affected.
- Sumito Oowara (Keep Your Hands off Eizouken!)
A segment of their lengthy statement:
As someone currently positioned as an author closely connected to the parties and organizations involved in the incident, to fulfill sufficient moral responsibility, the information and explanations available to me are fragmentary and inadequate—far less than even one percent of the details that may emerge in court proceedings (at least based on what I have read and understood). This makes it impossible for me to make judgments. Additionally, I do not fully grasp the detailed resolution sought by the victim at this point in time, so I feel there is a possibility that my response may be insufficient or inappropriate. I am aware that many authors connected to the editorial department in question and Shogakukan have issued statements, but I believe there is variation in responses because the company and editorial department have not provided sufficient explanations, and the information each person has encountered differs.
- George Morikawa (Hajime no Ippo)
This statement was made through a quote-repost of Eri Tsuruyoshi's original statement:
Good work today. I have no words. I feel the anger too, but since I don't grasp the big picture, I'm holding back. I hope you can rest both body and mind to recover from the damage. I'm hoping for the publisher to take responsibility.
Due to the backlash, Shogakukan has officially postponed its 71st Shogakukan Manga Award ceremony. Through a report by livedoor News, the decision to postpone stemmed from the controvery, and as Shogakukan stated was “a result of taking into consideration the incident at the Manga One Editorial department.” The ceremony was initially slated to occur today, 3 March.