Author of Datsuten Sakusen Sentenced to Pay 11 Million Yen for Abusing Former Student

Shouichi Yamamoto is a manga artist who began publishing his manga Datsuten Sakusen with Shogakukan in 2015. However, in 2022 the manga went on hiatus, and Shogakukan later announced that the manga would be discontinued due to “a certain incident involving the author,” but they did not specify what it was.

Today we know, he abused a minor.

The author of Datsuten Sakusen was ordered by the Sapporo District Court to pay 11 million yen in compensation to a former student who claimed to have suffered sexual abuse while attending a private school in Hokkaido. The decision was announced on the 20th and involves events that allegedly occurred when the young woman was still a minor.

According to the ruling, the victim, currently in her 20s, filed a lawsuit seeking approximately 19.8 million yen in damages for emotional distress against her former teacher and the educational institution. The court, however, determined that civil liability rests exclusively with the teacher, rejecting the claim against the school and setting the amount of 11 million yen to be paid by the defendant.

According to the Japanese press, the convicted man is Shoichi Yamamoto, known as the creator of the manga Datsuten Sakusen. The work was serialized on the Manga One app, published by Shogakukan, and gained popularity among readers of science fiction and fantasy.

As described in the lawsuit, the young woman was 15 years old when she began to get close to the teacher through the classes he taught. According to the court decision, the relationship evolved into inappropriate physical contact, including kissing and touching. At age 16, she reported being taken to a hotel outside the school environment, where sexual relations occurred.

At age 16, she was taken to a hotel outside of school, where the sexual relationship occurred, and the relationship continued afterward. Yamamoto behaved like a “father” to her, but demanded sexual acts under the pretext of “punishment,” in addition to repeatedly forcing her to eat his excrement, writing “slave” on her body, and taking photos, among other acts.

In its decision, the court highlighted the power imbalance in the relationship and considered that the young woman suffered significant harm due to the teacher’s conduct. This point was decisive in determining the compensation.

The information is from the website titiby.