Shogakukan Found to Have Promoted Human Rights Violations

Tokyo, Aug. 4 (Jiji Press)–A third-party panel of Shogakukan Inc. said Monday that the Japanese publisher has encouraged human rights violations by hiring a male manga artist who had committed sexual misconduct as an author for a new series under a different pseudonym. The panel said in an investigation report that Shogakukan’s manga app editorial department “encouraged and supported the violation of human rights of the woman victim.” The department changed the pen name of the male manga artist for the new series “Jojin Kamen” in 2022, according to the report. He had been fined for sexually assaulting a teenage girl who was his student when he was a teacher. The report also said that the department hired another male manga author for the new series “Seiso no Shinrishi” by changing his pseudonym, although his series in a different magazine was canceled after he was found guilty of sexual assault. The panel pointed out that the Jojin Kamen author might not have been fully aware of the nature of the crime he committed. It criticized his editor for being involved in out-of-court settlement negotiations and deciding to publish the new series without sufficient investigation or review. The report said that it is inevitable to conclude that the editor’s response “encouraged and supported the violation of human rights by the man against the victimized woman.” Referring to the Seiso no Shinrishi case, the panel pointed out that the author received psychological counseling. “It cannot be said that the decision to change the name was unreasonable” from the viewpoint of rehabilitation opportunities and privacy, the panel said. It concluded that Shogakukan’s lack of sensitivity regarding preventing human rights violations was problematic. The company failed to “systematically assess, manage and supervise important risks.” Shogakukan said in a statement that it sincerely apologizes to the victim, takes the matter very seriously and will face its responsibilities with sincerity. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]