The Japanese paper The Mainichi reports that anime studio Ufotable Inc. and its president Hikaru Kondo have been indicted for crimes related to their taxes. The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau originally filed their complaint in February of 2020. According to the allegations, Kondo and Ufotable …Read more »
Zhang Yujie was a government fund manager in China before being found guilty of embezzlement and receiving to life in prison as punishment. According to reports, the embezzlement consisted of 70 million yuan (about $10.8 million). This has led to having his items go up …Read more »
Two people are in trouble for leaking images of a Pokémon Sword and Shield strategy guide prior to the official release. The first person was working for the company printing the guide, which is how they received access to it. The second person helped spread …Read more »
Copyright violations are a serious offense in Japan, and that applies to those who are breaking these laws without intent to distribute. Despite everyone knowing this and an amazing promo campaign constantly conveying the rules, a fifty-year-old man was recently arrested in Osaka for filming …Read more »
The trial is now over for 29-year-old Romi Hoshino, the alleged administrator of notorious manga piracy site Manga-Mura. Hoshino was arrested in 2019 on a slew of copyright violations, and the Fukuoka District Court found him guilty today in Japan. The sentence comes down to …Read more »
WIT Studio—the folks behind the first three seasons of the Attack on Titan anime, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, Great Pretender, and more—is the latest anime studio to face a serious threat. According to the Musashino branch of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, a 25-year-old woman …Read more »
Last week the Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested six people because of how they were operating their maid cafés. It has to do with the Adult Entertainment Business Regulation Law in Japan. So-called regular restaurants can be open at any hour, but a “social” restaurant or …Read more »
The Japanese band ALI has revealed that it’s going on an indefinite hiatus. This comes after drummer Kahadio was arrested and indicted for fraud. Police describe a scenario where Kahadio scammed an elderly woman, telling her that if she gave some of her money to …Read more »
The movie Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time has done very well in Japan, but that doesn’t mean everyone likes it. While some people might criticize the movie, apparently others have gone beyond that and have been sending threatening messages to Studio Khara. We don’t …Read more »
In addition to anime and video games sales skyrocketing during COVID, trading cards have also seen major increases to their sales. Unfortunately, sometimes customers have gotten out of hand trying to get these cards. There are reports of scalping and damaging merchandise to get cards, …Read more »
In further evidence that some people need to take a break from mobile gaming and stop taking gacha mechanics so seriously, a knife-wielding attacker was recently arrested at the Shanghai offices of miHoYo, the developer behind hit game Genshin Impact. While this is a very …Read more »
Kahadio from the band ALI seems to be in more legal hot water. The drummer was arrested in early April over what was eventually revealed as fraud charges. This scandal caused the entire band to lose having their song as the opening theme song for …Read more »
A 45-year-old woman in Tokyo recently landed in some hot water after selling a suspiciously expensive bootleg Evangelion poster. The officer worker by day managed to sell one of the bootlegs for ¥7,900 (about $76) to a 60-year-old man at a flea market, and now …Read more »
Japanese police recently arrested 38-year-old Shigeru Okada, alleging that he set fire to a building while an idol concert was going on inside in March. About 70 people were in the vicinity, and while there were some burn injuries, there are thankfully no reports of …Read more »
Kahadio from the band ALI was recently arrested on charges that have yet to be revealed. As a result, the opening theme song for The World Ends With You the Animation is being changed at the very last minute. ALI was originally performing “Teenage City …Read more »
Danica Davidson
Joseph Luster
