Over the previous weekend, particulars emerged of a severe scandal that’s rocking the manga world, resulting in main authors eradicating their works from Manga One, the digital studying app of writer Shogakukan. It has been revealed that the publishing home, one of many largest in Japan, rehired an creator who had been arrested in 2020 for sexual assault of an underage lady below a false identify to work on a brand new manga.
Shoichi Yamamoto, the creator of Dakuten Sakusen, was arrested in 2020 for submitting a high-school lady to repeated sexual abuse over the course of years whereas Yamamoto was instructing artwork part-time on the lady’s faculty. In February 2026, he was convicted and ordered to pay 11 million yen ($71,000) in damages to the sufferer. Shogakukan canceled Dakuten Sakusen after his arrest in 2020, citing “well being causes” on Yamamoto’s half.
In 2022, Yamamoto was employed once more, below the identify Hajime Ichiro, by Shogakukan to work as a author on a brand new manga, Jojin Kamen, illustrated by Eri Tsuruyoshi. In line with reporting by Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun, editors at Manga One knew of Yamamoto’s conviction when he was rehired, and even obtained concerned in out-of-court settlement talks between him and the sufferer that will have required the sufferer to maintain the abuse secret. The 2 sides failed to succeed in a settlement, which led to the latest conviction.
On Feb. 27, Manga One launched an announcement and apology, which have been extensively criticized for not offering sufficient info on how or why Yamamoto had been employed once more. On Feb. 28, Shogakukan shared one other, extra detailed assertion, and likewise introduced that distribution of Jojin Kamen could be halted.
After the information emerged, a number of manga authors spoke up publicly to criticize Shogakukan, together with One, the creator of One-Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100, the latter of which was printed by Shogakukan. Many authors who’ve their works obtainable on the Manga One app determined to have them eliminated, together with Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma 1/2, Inuyasha), Kanehito Yamada (Frieren: Past Journey’s Finish), and Ryuhei Tamura (Cosmos).
This is not the primary time that the manga world has been rocked by a sexual abuse scandal involving underage victims. In 2017, Nobuhiro Watsuki, creator of Rurouni Kenshin, was charged and fined for possession of kid pornography. Notably, his ongoing manga Rurouni Kenshin: The Hokkaido Arc resumed publication shortly after the scandal. Excessive-profile colleagues of Watsuki by no means condemned his actions, to the purpose that Takehiko Inoue, Masashi Kishimoto, Eiichiro Oda, and plenty of others contributed with authentic illustrations to a Kenshin thirtieth anniversary exhibition in 2024.
Response to the Yamamoto scandal has been rather more vocal. Nonetheless, some distinguished artists working for Shogakukan, similar to Gosho Aoyama (Detective Conan), have but to remark. For the second, it appears that evidently criticism is being centered on Manga One and its editorial employees. In line with the second assertion, the writer acknowledges this “as a grave incident for which the corporate bears administration oversight duty, reflecting a lack of information relating to human rights and compliance.” Shogakukan additionally vows to determine an investigative committee “to make clear the information and causes, together with the circumstances surrounding the beginning of serialization and the editor’s involvement, together with any settlement discussions. Following that, we are going to concern a report on the investigation findings, impose strict disciplinary actions, and formulate and implement measures to stop recurrence.”
