It seems
that Shogakukan's PR department hasn't slept all month. Just
as the publisher was trying to put out the massive fire at Manga ONE (where
they covered up for mangakas convicted of crimes against minors), a new
skeleton has just come out of the corporate closet. On Tuesday, the company had
to issue another humiliating public apology after a weekly magazine uncovered a
disgusting case of sexual harassment and abuse of power perpetrated
by one of its employees.
A slap
on the wrist and keep working
The story
is a classic example of how corporations protect their own until the press
exposes them. It all dates back to 2018, when a Shogakukan employee used his
position of power over a worker at a partner company to harass her by sending
her inappropriate messages and demanding sexual favors. Feeling trapped by the
employment relationship, the victim endured the situation until she finally
went to the police in 2020.
Although
the case did not end in criminal charges at the time, Shogakukan did his own
"investigation." The result? The harasser was given an internal
punishment but allowed to keep his job. In fact, this individual
continued to operate with impunity within the company until, in 2025, he
committed "another offense" and was finally forced to resign.
Bribes
with photo books?
The bomb
exploded this March 2026, when a weekly magazine published the article exposing
all this misery. The juiciest thing about the leak is the accusation that
Shogakukan tried to silence the scandal by offering the victim a contract to
publish a photobook as a corporate bribe.
Of course,
Shogakukan immediately jumped in to deny this part of the story. In its
statement, the publisher assures that the idea for the photobook came
from the victim's side and that "there was no cover-up" (of course,
they only let the harasser continue working for five more years). True to the
Japanese corporate crisis playbook, they promised to hold "anti-harassment
workshops" and review their practices with outside experts.
