Your Name anime producer gets 4 years’ jail for sex crimes against minors
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TOKYO – A producer of the hit Japanese anime film Your Name has been handed a four-year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to charges of obscene acts towards minors.
Koichiro Ito had violated “laws on child prostitution and pornography”, as well as having non-consensual sex and filming indecent images, a Wakayama District Court spokesman said on March 3.
Ito, one of the producers of the critically acclaimed 2016 film, was sentenced on Feb 28.
Regional broadcasters said Ito was accused of paying a 15-year-old girl 20,000 yen (S$180) for sex in 2023, and demanding that another teenager take and send him explicit photos of herself.
Prosecutors sought six years in prison for Ito, who pleaded guilty in the first hearing, broadcaster KTV said.
Your Name, directed by Makoto Shinkai, was a huge commercial success in Japan, and won Best Animation at the 2016 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards.
Ito was also a producer for Mr Shinkai’s 2022 animation Suzume.
“I’m greatly shocked to see the news about an arrest of someone related to our work,” Mr Shinkai posted on X in February.
“First of all, I express my deepest sympathy towards the victims. I also feel very sorry for causing worries to people who love and support our work,” he added.
“I don’t think the value of our output is undermined by this incident, but it is natural to receive looks of disbelief. That is very regrettable and deplorable.” AFP
