Plaintiff in Manga Creator Shōichi Yamamoto's Sexual Abuse Case Releases Statement

Victim Calls for Restraint Amidst Ongoing Manga Scandals

Unnamed Victim Appeals for Calm

A victim in a recent sex crime case involving manga creator Shoichi Yamamoto has issued a public statement through the Tokyo-Kyodo Law Office. This action comes as both parties prepare to appeal a civil ruling. The woman, in her twenties, is pursuing a civil suit against Yamamoto, the teaching staff, and the educational corporation managing Hokkaido Geijutsu Koko Sapporo Satellite Campus, where she was a student during the incidents.

The victim emphasized her primary motivation is to prevent future individuals from enduring similar abuse by educational personnel. She recounted how initial settlement discussions broke down when the publisher declined her request for a clear explanation regarding Yamamoto's manga series returning from hiatus. She also expressed her prior unawareness that Yamamoto continued working with the publisher under a different pen name. The victim explicitly disavowed a headline from the Japanese weekly tabloid Shukan Bunshun that quoted her as saying she "could never forgive Shogakukan."

She acknowledged that Shogakukan privately apologized for the incident and reiterated her steadfast goal of revealing the full truth of the situation. Shogakukan corroborated this account in a subsequent statement and announced plans for a third-party committee to investigate the matter and propose preventive measures. The victim also conveyed a desire for no further harm to Shogakukan or the removal of additional series from its platforms, noting her appreciation for many of their works. Her statement concluded with a direct appeal to the public to curb escalating criticism of both Shogakukan and Shukan Bunshun. Her legal representative also confirmed an appeal of the criminal conviction's initial ruling, citing its failure to acknowledge the school's culpability. The statement additionally suggested the potential for more victims.

Shoichi Yamamoto Case Details Emerge

On February 20, the Sapporo District Court issued a civil judgment, mandating a man identified as Shoichi Yamamoto to pay 11 million yen, approximately 71,000 US dollars, in damages. The ruling stemmed from a woman's claims that Yamamoto repeatedly sexually abused and raped her while she was attending a distance-learning high school in Sapporo, where he served as a teacher. The civil suit was originally filed in July 2022.

According to the Okayama-based economic media outlet Ashita no Keizai Shimbun on February 25, the defendant Shoichi Yamamoto is indeed the creator of the manga series Daten Sakusen. Further reports from other news outlets indicated that in February 2020, a summary court convicted Yamamoto of violating the Child Prostitution and Pornography Prohibition Act, imposing a penalty of 300,000 yen, or about 1,900 US dollars.

Yamamoto's series, Daten Sakusen, began serialization on Manga ONE in February 2015. It entered hiatus in February 2020 and was subsequently removed from Manga ONE in October 2022. However, in 2022, Manga ONE initiated the serialization of Jojin Kamen, a manga by writer Hajime Ichiro and artist Eri Tsuruyoshi. It was later revealed that Hajime Ichiro is the same individual as Shoichi Yamamoto. On February 27, Manga ONE announced an immediate halt to the digital distribution of Jojin Kamen and ceased shipments of its physical compiled volumes. Shogakukan stated it should not have engaged Hajime Ichiro as the original writer for the manga.

Shogakukan's Settlement Involvement and Apology

Shogakukan acknowledged that during the civil case which concluded on February 20, a manga editor participated in the settlement negotiations. This editor reportedly advised the parties to secure legal counsel to prepare notarized settlement documents. Other news sources detailed that the editor also recommended including a condition in these notarized documents that would prevent the female victim from disclosing the matter and proposed a settlement payment of 1.5 million yen, approximately 9,700 US dollars, from Yamamoto.

Both Manga ONE and Shogakukan issued apologies to their readership and to other creators contributing to Manga ONE. They reiterated plans to establish an investigative committee, which will include lawyers, to clarify the full facts of the situation. The committee's scope specifically covers understanding the process by which the manga serialization began and the extent of the editor's involvement in the settlement negotiations.

Widespread Creator Backlash and Award Postponement

Following the statements published by Manga ONE on Friday and Shogakukan on Saturday, a significant number of manga creators voiced their criticism of the statements and Shogakukan generally on social media platforms. Many creators indicated intentions to withdraw their manga titles from the Manga ONE platform.

As of press time, several prominent manga works, including Frieren Beyond Journey's End and multiple series by Rumiko Takahashi such as Maison Ikkoku and Ranma 1/2, are not currently accessible on Manga ONE. It remains unclear whether the unavailability of these manga on the service is directly linked to the recent scandal or if they were inaccessible prior to Manga ONE's initial statement on Friday. The Kyodo news agency reported on March 1 that Shogakukan has postponed the ceremony for the winners of the 71st Shogakukan Manga Awards, which was originally scheduled for March 3.

Reviewing Past Scandals: The Tatsuya Matsuki Case

A prior scandal had prompted Shogakukan to undertake an internal investigation. Shogakukan announced on March 2 that the Manga ONE editorial department must now investigate the hiring process and verification system for the original creator of the Seiso no Shinri-shi manga, which is currently serialized on the Manga ONE service. Miki Yatsunami, the original creator of this manga, is the pen name used by Tatsuya Matsuki, the writer of the Act-Age manga. Matsuki was arrested and indicted in 2020 on charges of committing a coerced indecent act on a female middle school student.

The Manga ONE editorial department explained that with Yatsunami's consent, an editor contacted the writer in August. The two corresponded about his new work. The editor confirmed that Matsuki's sentence had been finalized and his suspended sentence had expired. The editor also confirmed Matsuki's remorse for the incident, his efforts to prevent any recurrence, and the status of his support from experts for his reintegration into society. Shogakukan stated the Miki Yatsunami pen name was initially chosen out of consideration for the victims to avoid re-victimization.

The editor reported the details of the meeting to the then editor-in-chief, and following their approval, Yatsunami and the editor began communication with the objective of publishing his work on Manga ONE. Only a limited number of individuals within the editorial department were aware of Matsuki's true identity. The manga's artist, Kaoru Yukihira, was also informed of the potential risks if the truth were to become public and still chose to take on the project of drawing the manga. Yukihira was also consulted prior to the public announcement. While Shogakukan maintained its decision for Matsuki to use a pen name was always intended to serve the best interests of the victims, the company admitted that the Manga ONE editorial staff should have given more thorough consideration to whether this decision truly prioritized the victims. Updates for Seiso no Shinri-shi have been temporarily suspended.