Content warning: this article contains graphic descriptions of rape and sexual abuse.

Shogakukan's Manga ONE editorial department issued a statement and an apology on Friday regarding manga creator Shōichi Yamamoto, after the editorial department had allowed Yamamoto to publish a new manga on the service under a penname after he had been arrested and convicted of a sex crime.

According to the statement, after Yamamoto was arrested, indicted, and fined in 2020, the publisher canceled serialization on Yamamoto's Daten Sakusen manga on the Manga ONE platform.

However, in 2022, Manga ONE started serialization on writer "Hajime Ichiro" and artist Eri Tsuruyoshi's Jōjin Kamen manga, even though "Hajime Ichiro" and Shōichi Yamamoto were the same person. Shogakukan has now halted digital distribution of the Jōjin Kamen manga, and also halted shipments of the physical compiled volumes of the manga. Shogakukan stated it should not have hired "Hajime Ichiro" as the original writer of the manga.

The company apologized to readers, artist Tsuruyoshi, other creators who contribute to Manga ONE, and to all parties involved.

Manga ONE's Statement on Civil Case

Manga ONE's editorial department also mentioned a civil lawsuit (in addition to the criminal case) regarding Yamamoto, stating that during the settlement negotiations, the editorial department as an organization had no intention of getting involved. However, a manga editor did participate in a group chat in a messaging app after being requested to do so by both parties involved. According to the statement, both parties involved in the civil case had already decided on certain conditions of the settlement before the manga editor participated in discussion. Shogakukan stated the editor advised the parties to hire a lawyer to prepare notarized documents for the settlement. The editorial department stated it was not fully aware of the seriousness of the civil case, and did not have sufficient information regarding the case, and its response was inappropriate. The editorial department added it will work to prevent a similar situation from happening again.

Manga ONE's editorial department did not provide details on Yamamoto's arrest in 2020, and did not give details about the civil lawsuit he was involved in.

Shogakukan's Own Statement

Shogakukan announced on Saturday it will set up an investigative committee that will include lawyers to clarify the facts of the situation, particularly to understand how the manga serialization began and the involvement of an editor in the settlement negotiations. The company will report the results of the investigation, "take strict measures," and create and implement measures to prevent reoccurrence.

Shogakukan stated it "should have first and foremost considered the feelings of the victim."

Shogakukan apologized to readers, Tsuruyoshi, other authors who write and draw for its publications, and all parties involved.

Civil Case Details

News agency Kyodo reported on Friday that the civil lawsuit was about a sex crime case, adding the manga editor had advised that the notarized documents include the condition the female victim could not disclose the matter.

The Okayama-based economic media outlet "Ashita no Keizai Shimbun" (Tomorrow's Economic Newspaper) reported on February 25 about a civil case regarding a defendant named Shōichi Yamamoto. The outlet claimed that according to its own sources, the Shōichi Yamamoto in the lawsuit is the same as the manga creator of Daten Sakusen.

ANN could not independently verify Ashita no Keizai Shimbun's reporting.

According to Ashita no Keizai Shimbun's reporting, the Sapporo District Court on February 20 handed down a ruling ordering Yamamoto to pay 11 million yen (about US$71,000) in damages to a woman in her 20s, who claimed that Yamamoto repeatedly sexually abused and raped her while she was in a distance-learning high school in Sapporo and while he was a teacher at her school. The woman had originally sued for 19.8 million yen (about US$128,000), and had also sued the high school she attended. The court dismissed the case against the school.

Ashita no Keizai Shimbun stated that according to the judicial decision, when the victim was 15 years old and Yamamoto was her teacher, he kissed her and touched her body while they were inside a car. Then, when she was 16 years old, he invited her to a hotel and raped her and continued a relationship with her afterward. The lawsuit stated that Yamamoto had forced her to eat her own excrement, and took pictures of her while she had the word "slave" written on her body as "punishment."

The Bengoshi Dot Com legal news website corroborated Ashita no Keizai Shimbun's story, though it did not mention Yamamoto by name nor did it mention that he was a manga creator. Bengoshi Dot Com reported on February 20 that the victim filed the lawsuit against Yamamoto and the school in July 2022. The outlet also reported court documents showed Yamamoto continued his illegal acts against the victim until after she turned 18 and graduated high school. According to the lawsuit, the victim said she had no choice but to comply with the requests as she thought it would negatively impact her high school life if she refused, and she thought she did not know what might happen if she refused him while they were alone in a locked room together.

Bengoshi Dot Com reported the victim was later diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociative identity disorder.

Other newspapers such as Mainichi Shimbun and the news agency Kyodo also reported on the story, although they also did not name Yamamoto or his manga works, but did note the defendant was a manga creator. According to their reporting, in February 2020 a summary court convicted Yamamoto of violating the Child Prostitution and Pornography Prohibition Act and he was ordered to pay a penalty of 300,000 yen (about US$1,900).

Mainichi Shimbun also reported that it was in May 2021 when the manga editor entered the group chat on the LINE messaging app and proposed the condition about the female victim's non-disclosure, and also proposed that Yamamoto pay 1.5 million yen (about US$9,700) as settlement. The victim did not agree to those terms, and a settlement was not reached at that time.

Bengoshi Dot Com added Yamamoto had argued in court that the acts were not illegal as he claimed they were consensual, and that the lawsuit should be dismissed as a settlement had been reached for 1.5 million yen. However, the court stated the settlement had not been concluded as the victim never signed the final contract.

The Mainichi reported that the victim's attorney Hiroko Kotake stated, "While we don't know how much the editor and Shogakukan knew of the seriousness of his crime, they should be held socially responsible." Shogakukan told The Mainichi through its press office that it would look into the case and take "necessary measures."

Manga Creator Reactions and Backlash

Eri Tsuruyoshi, the artist of Jōjin Kamen, posted a statement on their X/Twitter account on Friday, stating they were not informed about Yamamoto's case and learned about it through news and social media. Tsuruyoshi stated they met Yamamoto only once, and otherwise all communication was conducted through "Narita" who was in charge of the project (presumably the manga editor, but it is not confirmed if this person is the editor who participated in the civil case's negotiations). Tsuruyoshi claimed they did not know anything about Yamamoto's past incidents, and stated they "strongly feel acts that hurt others should not occur in the real world." Tsuruyoshi stated their hope that the victim will be able to recover both mentally and physically, and apologized to readers.

Other manga creators, many of whom publish works on Manga ONE, also took to X/Twitter to react to the situation, with many boycotting the Manga ONE platform.

Ai Minase expressed their anger and has asked that their works be removed from Manga ONE.

Minoru Takeyoshi similarly stated they have decided to halt publication of their Shokubutsu Byōrigaku wa Asu no Kimi o Negau manga on Manga ONE.

Konomi Wagata stated while their My New Life as a Cat manga was slated to update on Manga ONE on March 6, they have decided to halt publication on the platform, adding this is their personal decision based on their personal feelings.

Miko Mitsuki also stated they plan to remove their manga from the Manga ONE platform. Other authors such as light novel author Kazami Sawatari expressed outrage at the Manga ONE editorial department's statement, adding they do not support the statement.

Many of these statements also asked readers to read their works on other platforms or in other magazines.

Yamamoto's Manga Publication History

Yamamoto began serializing Daten Sakusen on Manga ONE in February 2015. The manga went on hiatus in February 2020 (cited at the time as being due to Yamamoto's poor health), and on October 1, 2022, Shogakukan announced the manga was ending publication on Manga ONE and Ura Sunday on October 31, 2022. The manga's editor Takuya Narita then handed the manga's X/Twitter account to Yamamoto as of November 1, and all rights were also transferred to Yamamoto. Yamamoto then posted on that X/Twitter account on November 1 that the manga ended publication due to "ongoing personal troubles" and not due to health issues or the relationship with the editorial staff.

In December 2022, Yamamoto started self-publishing Daten Sakusen digitally on the Kindle Store, continuing the series past its serialization on Manga ONE. The latest volume, volume 7, debuted digitally in December 2023.

"Hajime Ichiro" and Eri Tsuruyoshi launched the Jōjin Kamen manga on Manga ONE in 2022. Shogakukan published the first volume in April 2023, and published the 12th volume on February 19.

Sources: Manga ONE's website via Hachima Kikō, Oricon, Ashita no Keizai Shimbun via Yaraon!, Kyodo via My Game News Flash, Mainichi Shimbun/Kyodo, The Mainichi, Bengoshi Dot Com

If you're a victim of sexual assault and need help, please call RAINN at 800.656.HOPE (4673) to be connected with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area. Your call will be confidential. You can also visit the RAINN website for other resources and an online chat. In Japan, victims can reach out to the One-Stop Support Center. The global Find A Helpline website can also help victims connect to a helpline or hotline near them.