Act-Age Manga Author Tatsuya Matsuki Admits to Indecent Charges
On August 8, 2020, Tatsuya Matsuki—the author of the Act-Age manga— was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department on charges of indecent acts on a teenage girl.
On Tuesday, there was a hearing before the Tokyo District Court: in which the author admitted to the charge that was levelled on him. The sentencing is now scheduled for December 2020.
Tatsuya Matsuki (29), the author of Act-Age, has arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department for indecent acts on a teenage woman.https://t.co/fwGGW4ufRl
— Act-Age? (@ActAgeManga) August 8, 2020
Two incidents took place on June 18, 2020—both of which Matsuki had allegedly committed— and it is the second incident that the author is being indicted with. A man assaulted a junior high school girl, who then fled on a bike and also assaulted at least one other girl in the area. Both of these events took place within one hour of each other. The police apprehended Matsuki after analysing the security camera footage and noting his resemblance to the man in the footage.
Matsuki has reportedly told the police that “there’s generally nothing incorrect” with their accusations.
Shueisha’ Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, which serialised the manga, has cancelled the further release of it. The Act-Age manga last appeared in the combined 36th and 37th issue in August. The sales and distribution of the manga’s digital and physical copies have also been stopped. The final chapter of the manga would not be published by both the magazine’s Manga PLUS service and by Viz Media on its English Shonen Jump service. Further, listings of the compiled book volumes of the manga have also been removed, although Viz Media has announced that chapters 26-45 would be added after translation.
We want to clarify that the girl in question was indeed a teenager. This would fall under the victim being between the age of 10-17 years old. Tatsuya Matsuki himself is 29 years of age. The future of Act-Age at this point is unknown, but expect a major announcement by Jump soon. https://t.co/3q54857HZE
— Shonen Jump News – Unofficial (@WSJ_manga) August 8, 2020
Additionally, Hori Pro’s upcoming stage play adaptation of the manga has been cancelled.
Now, the prosecution is seeking a prison sentence of one year and six months—but the defence, arguing that the defendant had already suffered and been punished by society through the cancellation of his manga, asked for a suspended sentence. Should the latter happen, the author would not be going to jail provided that he maintains good behaviour during his suspension.
Matsuki has stated that he had many anxieties that he couldn’t talk about, making him desperate; as well as having a complex towards women that he acted out on a random stranger. He also said that there is no way to apologize for his actions toward the victim.
