Tatsuya Matsuki, author of Shonen Jump manga, accused of molesting girl

tokyoreporter.com -- Aug 09

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested popular manga author Tatsuya Matsuki over the alleged molestation of a middle school girl in Nakano Ward earlier this year, reports Sankei Sports (Aug. 8).

At around 8:00 p.m. on June 18, Matsuki, 29, allegedly used a bicycle to approach the girl from behind and grabbed her chest. He then fled the scene.

Upon his arrest on suspicion of indecent assault on Saturday, Matsuki “generally” admitted to the allegations, according to the Nakano Police Station.

At the time of the incident, the girl was on her way home from a juku (cram school). Afterward, she contacted police.

Matsuki surfaced as a person of interest in the case after an examination of security camera footage taken in the area.

Second case

About one hour after the alleged crime, a similar incident involving another middle school girl took place in the same area. Police are investigating whether Matsuki was also behind that case.

Matsuki is known as the author of the manga Act-Age, which appears in the weekly magazine Shonen Jump. Illustrated by Shiro Usazaki, the manga was launched in January of 2018.

In a tweet, the editorial division of the magazine apologized and said that they were taking the matter seriously. “Upon confirming the facts, we will deal with [the matter] appropriately,” the tweet said.

Aug 09 (ANNnewsCH) - 東京・中野区の路上で自転車で追い抜きざまに女子中学生の胸を無理やり触ったとして、自称・シナリオライターの29歳の男が逮捕されました。  松木達哉容疑者は6月18日午後8時ごろ、中野区内の路上で塾から歩いて帰宅途中だった女子中学生に後ろから自転車で近付き、追い抜きざまに無理やり胸を触った疑いが持たれています。取り調べに対し、容疑を認めています。また、この事件の約1時間後、2キロほど離れた路上でも別の女子中学生が同様の被害を受けていて、警視庁が関連を調べています。