Japan’s manga industry faces a ‘#MeToo moment’ after Shogakukan scandal

One of Japan’s largest manga publishers is facing mounting backlash after it emerged that a writer convicted of sexually assaulting a minor had continued producing work for the company under a different name.The controversy has prompted some observers to ask whether Japan’s manga industry is experiencing a belated “#MeToo moment”, as prominent creators pull their works from the publisher’s Manga One digital platform in protest.Tokyo-based Shogakukan said on Tuesday it would set up a third-party panel to examine how senior staff approved the publication of new work by the author while concealing his identity behind a pen name.According to a statement on the publisher’s website, Shoichi Yamamoto, author of the Operation Fallen Angel manga series, was arrested in February 2020 on suspicion of violating Japan’s Child Prostitution and Child Pornography Prohibition Act while working as an art teacher in Sapporo.The company said it immediately suspended serialisation of the title.09:32Gundam: Ace of Japanese anime, the story behind the popular Gunpla toy kitsGundam: Ace of Japanese anime, the story behind the popular Gunpla toy kitsYamamoto was later found guilty of repeatedly assaulting a 15-year-old girl and, on February 20, was ordered by the Sapporo Supreme Court to pay 11 million yen (US$70,000) in damages to his victim.