Abstract:
On September 2, 2026, the 72-year-old Japanese cartoonist Masami Kurumada held a press conference in Tokyo and announced that the three companies where he served as representative directors had been embezzled by former managers of approximately 4.69 billion yen (approximately 200 million yuan), and had filed a lawsuit for damages with the Tokyo District Court.
Masami Kurumada is world-famous for works such as "Saint Seiya", "The True Colors of Hot Fist", and "Fuuma Kojiro". "Saint Seiya" has sold more than 50 million copies, and has spawned a huge animation, film and commercial copyright system. Its copyright and related businesses are managed by three companies including "Chetian Production".
According to the complaint, the defendant's main criminal has served as Kurumada Masami's editor-in-chief since the 2000s, and later became his manager and director of three companies. He has long been in charge of the company's funds, external negotiations and overall business. In order to focus on creation, Masami Kurumada completely entrusted the company's administration and finance to him. However, the man deliberately blocked direct contact with the outside world and Kurumada himself on the grounds that "Mr. Kurumada is an artist and hates contact with people." He completely monopolized information and finance for 25 years, and also brought in his younger brother and acquaintances.
From 2018 to 2024, the former manager continued to embezzle company funds by transferring company funds to other accounts without authorization and requiring transaction partners to transfer authorization funds to affiliated company accounts. Most of the embezzled funds were ultimately used to purchase crypto assets.
Around February 2024, the Tokyo Internal Revenue Service discovered abnormal fund flows during a tax investigation. The man even forged Masami Kurumada’s handwriting and seal and submitted a false reply to the national tax in an attempt to conceal it. After the incident came to light, Masami Kurumada fired the man. At present, approximately 1.8 billion yen (approximately 76 million yuan) has been recovered, and the remaining approximately 2.89 billion yen is being recovered through litigation.
At the press conference, Kurumada Masami said solemnly: "In the early days of the incident, the company's account balance was very low, and it was impossible to pay the huge tax. Rather than being angry, I felt empty. I didn't expect that there would be people in the world who would betray those who trusted them for their own selfish purposes. I almost lost trust in humanity for a time."
He also said: "In the future, I will continue to create for the readers of "Saint Seiya" and Kurumada comics around the world."
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