34-year-old Mitch William Gross of Iowa was sentenced on August 24 to four months in federal prison. His crime? Wire fraud. More specifically, he used company money to buy more than $140,000 worth of Pokémon cards and other gaming items. Gross was working for Ruan …Read more »
In May, Otaku USA reported on a new law in Japan meant to protect women from coercive practices at host clubs. There were 207 criminal investigations into host clubs in 2024, and these revolved around cases where, for example, host clubs pressure customers who owe …Read more »
Gaou, an artist known especially for his light novel illustrations, is in hot water after saying in a livestream that he did some sort of sexual acts with a 14-year-old girl. According to Japanese law, the age of consent is 16. The girl, who was …Read more »
Artist Gaou, whose credits include being the illustrator for the light novel series I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time and Welcome to the Outcast’s Restaurant!, has lost multiple jobs after confessing during a livestream to …Read more »
Another day, another pointless Pokémon crime. This time around someone broke into 1st Edition Collectibles in New Bedford, Massachusetts, approximately 60 miles away from Boston. It was about 2:30 AM on Tuesday. The thief, who then disappeared into the night, knew to take high-value collectible …Read more »
Two Pokémon-related burglaries have taken place near Detroit, Michigan. Because the thieves have a similar mode of operation, it’s probably the same people behind both crimes. Police are currently investigating. The first burglary took place at RWI Hobbies in Livonia, Michigan. Two disguised people found …Read more »
Last year, there were approximately 1,100 host clubs in Japan, with about a third of them in Tokyo. These are supposed to be fun, entertaining excursions, like we see in Ouran High School Host Club (and check out Otaku USA’s interview with Kyoya’s voice actor …Read more »
Fuji TV has been struggling since it was caught up in a sexual assault scandal. As a refresher, Fuji TV host Masahiro Nakai, who was once part of the band SMAP, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman who also worked there. Allegedly there were …Read more »
Unfortunately, crimes related to Pokémon continue to happen. In one recent case, a 38-year-old Australian man agreed to sell his PSA 9 Base Set holo Charizard, estimated at $8,000 in Australia, which would be a little over $5,000 in the United States. The man, who …Read more »
On April 21 in Saitama Prefecture, police arrested 48-year-old Daisuke Nishimura while he was naked at a junior high cram school. After breaking into the school, he allegedly physically attacked the teacher with a mug, causing a need for stitches, and grabbed a girl by …Read more »
Last October, Game Freak, the company that develops Pokémon games, suffered a huge leak. This occurred after they were hacked in August. Predictably, Nintendo is looking into legal means to deal with the hacker who did so much damage. The company filed the appropriate paperwork …Read more »
Anime and manga tourism are big businesses in Japan. But according to a new report, sex tourism is also seeing an increased presence in the country. According to the French news organization Agence France-Presse (AFP), there is no official data on these numbers, though their …Read more »
The arrests of four people by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police this week made news as the first arrests of its kind. The people had been selling pornographic posters made by AI, but because they didn’t cover up or pixilate the woman’s private parts, they got …Read more »
Kyoto Animation arsonist Shinji Aoba received the death penalty in January 2024, appealed it right after, dropped his appeal on January 27, 2025, and then days later his defense moved to override his withdrawal. Now Japanese paper The Mainichi reports that a source they trust …Read more »
Anime producer Kouichirou Itou has received his final sentencing. He had been charged with rape, plus breaking laws related to child prostitution and child pornography. He will receive four years behind bars. Prior to his arrest, Itou was mainly known for producing Makoto Shinkai movies. …Read more »
Danica Davidson
