Wakayama Prefectural Police arrested Kouichirou Itou ,
a 52-year-old anime producer, for allegedly soliciting nude images from
a 15-year-old high school student and resident of Nagano. Itou
admitted to the charges, although according to authorities he claimed that he
" had done it with other people, so he couldn't say if the charges
were about this girl or not ." According to the
information provided by the authorities, Itou requested the photographs from
the girl in September 2021, having full knowledge that she was a minor at the
time.
Itou's alleged crime was discovered as part of a
separate prostitution investigation, police said. Authorities
are currently investigating whether there are other victims involved with this
subject. Notably, Itou has been a producer on many of director Makoto
Shinkai's works , including his second feature film “ Kumo no
Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho (The Place Promised in Our Early Days) ”,
“ Hoshi wo Ou Kodomo (Children Who Chase Lost) Voices) ”,
“ Kotonoha no Niwa (The Garden of Words) ”, his successful
film “ Kimi no Na wa. (Your Name.) ”, and his next two films
“ Tenki no Ko (Weathering with You) ” and “ Suzume no
Tojimari ”.
The news has generated commotion in the anime
industry and among followers of the works in which Itou has been involved. The
studios and production companies related to his projects have not commented on
the matter so far. The situation has also raised concerns about the safety and well-being
of minors working in or associated with the entertainment industry:
- « I
thought he had only produced Your Name, but I took a look and it seems
that he has been a constant collaborator of Makoto Shinkai for a long time .»
- " Considering
the scene where the girl gropes her tits, it makes me think how long I've
been doing this kind of thing ."
- « I
find it quite curious that the girl in “Your Name” is also a high school
student like the victim. When I watched the movie again, I felt that her
crimes would be connected to the story. It is worrying that this producer
is now going to face multiple charges of sexual harassment of minors, it
is no longer about simple possession of images .
- " It
was clear, you can't make a movie where a high school girl gropes her tits
and come out unscathed ."
- " Your
Name was made by a lot of people, but everything goes to hell because of
just one ."
- " As
expected, a criminal record will haunt you for life ."
- " It
doesn't seem like he feels sorry for his actions, it's like he already
wanted to get caught ."
- « Although
many say that it is unnecessary to mention the detail that he was the
producer of “Your Name”, this guy is a close collaborator of Makoto
Shinkai and has been in almost all of his projects. I think he will really
have an impact on his future films .'
Source: Yahoo!News Taiwan
