According to a report by The Sankei News, Tomohiro Maki, CEO of the anime production company Gainax Co., Ltd., was arrested on December 5th by First Criminal Investigation Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department for the crime of "quasi forcible indecency" against a teenage girl.

On four separate occasions between February 6th and 23rd, 2019, the 50-year-old Maki allegedly took topless photos of the teen, who was training to be a professional voice actress, and touched her under the pretense of giving her a massage. In a statement released by the police, Maki denied the charges, saying: "The facts are different. I took the photos because I was asked to do so." Maki had apparently told the teen that he was "preparing her for being photographed as an entertainer."

Maki also operated a production company in charge of training voice actors, and the teen was in an exclusive contract with that company at the time. However, after amassing huge amounts of debt, the company was no longer active.

Several young women in their teens and twenties had been seen entering and leaving Maki's apartment, which he called the "Production Girls Dorm."


Note: This article was edited on December 7th to correct a potential misunderstanding concerning the relationship between Tomohiro Maki and the Evangelion franchise. Anime Studio Khara, which currently makes the Evangelion movies and is working on Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 due to be released in theaters in Spring 2020, has no business relationship with Gainax or its CEO Tomohiro Maki, and Gainax currently holds no rights related to the Evangelion franchise. We sincerely apologize for any offense we may have caused.


By - Ben K.