“act-age” Author Tatsuya Matsuki Admits to Sexual Assault Charges in 1st Day at Court

A report by Japanese broadcaster NHK stated that disgraced act-age author Tatsuya Matsuki has admitted to the charges of committing an indecent act on a female middle school student.  

Matsuki was also reported to have claimed that his motive for doing the crime was that he “had multiple worries and anxieties, but I couldn’t talk about them and had become desperate. I also had a complex about women so I took it out on strangers.” He was also reported to have apologized to his victims in court.

The prosecution is seeking a prison sentence of at least one year and six months, but Matsuki’s lawyers are instead asking for a suspended sentence, saying that the “punishment from society” that Matsuki had received (referring to the cancellation of his series) was already enough. The sentencing is scheduled for December 23.

On August 8, series creator and author Tatsuya Matsuki was arrested by police after committing an indecent act on a female high school student. According to police reports, the junior high school student was walking in the streets of Nakano ward, Tokyo on June 18 at 8:00 PM when Matsuki approached her from behind while on his bicycle. He then touched her inappropriately and fled the scene on his bike. The victim immediately reported the incident to the police, and the suspect was identified using security footage. The police also discovered that an hour after the reported incident, Matsuki inappropriately touched another female student, this time in a road near where the first incident took place.

act-age was launched in Weekly Shonen Jump last January 2018, with the story written and created by Matsuki and illustrations provided by Shiro Usazaki. The series was once considered to be one of Shonen Jump’s current promising works along with Jujutsu Kaisen. The manga was nominated for Kodansha’s 43^rd Annual Manga Awards last year and was set to receive a stage play adaptation in 2022. A previous announcement from publisher Shueisha stated that they are cancelling all volumes of act-age, both in digital and print form.

Source: Anime News Network