A recent controversy surrounding Shogakukan's manga app, Manga One, has escalated after it was revealed that the platform had hired Shoichi Yamamoto (real name: Kazuaki Kurita), a manga artist previously convicted of sexually assaulting a high school girl, to work on a new series under a different pen name. The public backlash has been fierce, with the focus now squarely on Shogakukan, and has even led to numerous other manga artists announcing they are pulling their work from the platform.
After several days, Shogakukan successfully contacted the victim. Company directors and other relevant personnel visited the office of the victim's legal representative to offer an apology. Today (March 9), the company issued an official statement outlining its response to the situation.
(Previously: Shogakukan Under Fire for Rehiring Manga Artist Convicted of Sexual Assault Under New Pen Name; Apology Criticized as Evasive & Shogakukan Admits to Allowing Disgraced "act-age" Author Tatsuya Matsuki to Return Under New Name, Will Form Third-Party Committee )
According to Shogakukan's announcement, on March 5, 2026, the company was given the opportunity to formally apologize to the woman who was victimized by manga artist Shoichi Yamamoto. "We express our sincerest gratitude for her willingness to accept our apology," the statement reads. "We will take the feedback we received that day seriously and promise to implement various measures to fulfill our corporate responsibility and ensure respect for all human rights."
The woman who was sexually assaulted by Yamamoto was diagnosed with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) after the incident and continues to suffer to this day. "However, our company failed to prioritize the victim's feelings and circumstances," Shogakukan admitted. "By allowing the perpetrator to be re-hired under a different pen name, we effectively disregarded the woman's human rights, and the company deeply recognizes its significant responsibility in management and supervision."
On March 5, company directors and relevant personnel visited the office of the victim's legal representative and conveyed their sincerest apologies to the victim via telephone through her lawyer.
The points explained and apologized for at that time included:
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Re-hiring Yamamoto as the original author for a new series under a different pen name, despite knowing the woman was suffering from PTSD.
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The company had systemic problems with its management and supervision regarding this matter.
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The company has decided to establish a third-party investigation committee to clarify the facts, determine the cause, and propose recommendations to prevent recurrence, which will be used to drive necessary reforms.
The victim's legal representative also conveyed her strong desire that "there should be no more victims." In response to this profound sentiment, Shogakukan stated it will re-examine its corporate responsibilities and clearly state its position: "The company will not tolerate sexual violence, sexual exploitation, or any form of human rights violation. Respecting human rights is the most important issue for a company as a member of society."
The company has decided to take the following measures:
Establish a third-party investigation committee
Formulate and publish a corporate human rights policy
Conduct human rights-related education and training within the company
Going forward, the company will implement further concrete measures to prevent similar human rights violations based on the recommendations of the third-party committee. "Finally, we once again express our deepest apologies to the victim," the statement concluded. "We also extend our sincerest apologies to our readers, the manga artists who publish on our platforms, our partners, and all related parties."
Following the recent revelations of hiring manga artists who have faced legal prosecution for criminal acts, the company's official response is a decision to no longer allow such individuals to create and publish works on its platforms.
However, regarding the controversial hiring process and the editors and personnel responsible, the company has only stated that a third-party committee will clarify the situation and determine future responses. This series of events has already caused a significant loss of public trust in Shogakukan. It appears a more comprehensive resolution and a clearer understanding of the underlying problems will have to wait until the official investigation results are announced.