A third-party panel at Shogakukan said Monday that the publisher 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 female 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 changed the pseudonym of another male manga author when hiring him for new series ¡°Seiso no Shinrishi,¡± even though 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 had 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.