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Anime/Game Music Composer Hidekazu Tanaka Admits to Obscenity Charges in Court

At a Tokyo District Court on Wednesday, 35-year-old game and anime composer Hidekazu Tanaka admitted to using obscene language to a 15-year-old girl in an attempt to commit acts of obscenity towards her. Tanaka allegedly said "I'll give you money so won't you do it?" to a teenage girl and forcibly took her hand at a train station's bicycle parking area in Tokyo's Meguro ward last August. In court, Tanaka stated that he "liked her face and presence," so he followed her from the train, then tried to commit an obscene act.

According to police, the girl reported the incident at a nearby neighborhood police outpost. Police then reportedly found footage from the station's security camera of a person following the girl.

Tanaka also admitted to voyeurism at least dozens of times in the past 10 years. He has also been indicted for taking voyeuristic pictures of women's skirts at Ebisu Station and other train stations from September-October, and for exposing his lower body on a train from Yūrakuchō Station. He added that he wanted to feel the "thrill" of wondering whether he would be caught, and committed these actions to "relieve anger and work stress."

Police arrested Tanaka in Tokyo on October 24 on a charge of attempted forcible indecency — a Japanese legal term which includes sexual assault.

Tanaka has composed numerous songs and soundtracks for anime and videogames during his career, most of it spent at the music production company monaca. During his 10 years at monaca, Tanaka composed music and songs for such anime as Nyaruko: Crawling with Love!, Aikatsu!, Servant × Service, THE IDOLM@STER MOVIE: Kagayaki no Mukōgawa e!, The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls, Sword Oratoria: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side, Hitori Bocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu, and Idoly Pride. He left monaca at end of July 2021.

He is perhaps best known for composing the first opening song "Star!!" for The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls anime, as well as composing the anime's soundtrack. He also composed and arranged many of the songs in the larger The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls franchise. More recently, he is credited as the composer for the second and fourth versions of the opening song "1・2・3" for the Pokémon Journeys: The Series anime, and composed the opening song "Ichigo Ichie Celebration" for the second season of the Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! anime. He composed the ending song "Calendar Girl" for the Aikatsu! anime.

The release of the opening theme song "Ichigo Ichie Celebration" (Once-in-a-Lifetime Celebration)" for the second season of the Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! television anime was canceled due to "various reasons." Tanaka composed and arranged the theme song. The original song by Kano and Uzaki-chan (as voiced by her voice actress Naomi Ōzora) and a version performed by virtual YouTuber singing unit MKLNtic were scheduled to debut on November 30.

The Pokémon Journeys: The Series anime's opening sequence for the theme song "1・2・3" has removed Tanaka's music arrangement credit in recent episodes. In addition, voice actress and performer Momo Asakura's live "Piacere!" tour has removed her song "Day and night dream" ("Shiroku Jichūmu"), which Tanaka composed, from the concert setlists.

Source: TBS News Dig via Hachima Kikо̄