Earlier today, Hidekazu Tanaka, a composer whose work includes contributions to Pokémon Journeys: The Series and The Idolm@ster, admitted in court to stalking and soliciting sex from a 15-year-old girl, as well as a dozen other obscene public acts from the past 10 years.
During a trial with the Tokyo District Court, the 35-year-old composer admitted to propositioning a minor for sex in exchange for money in Tokyo’s Meguro ward last August, an incident in which he allegedly also forcibly grabbed her hand, according to Anime News Network. Tanaka was later arrested by Tokyo Police in October of that year on charges of forcible indecency, which in Japanese criminal law refers to acts of assault or intimidation which have a sexual element.
Tanaka pled guilty to all charges during his preliminary trial, according to Siliconera. He also confessed to taking upskirt photos of girls’ underwear at a train station, as well as exposing his genitals while riding the train dozens of times over the past decade, according to Japanese outlet TBS.
“I wanted to feel the thrill of being found or not,” Tanaka stated in court. “I did it to relieve my daily frustration and work stress.”
Tanaka is credited with writing the theme songs to the slice-of-life anime Aikatsu!, the supernatural anime Highschool of the Dead, Oreimo 2, Monogatari Series: Second Season, and the fantasy anime Sword Oratoria: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side. He has also contributed music to a few games, including Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
In addition to having his work pulled from other anime, Tanaka has had his composer credits for Pokémon Journeys: The Series’ opening theme song removed from new episodes. Furthermore, Japanese voice actress and singer Momo Asakura has removed the song “Day and Night Dream ‘Shiroku Jichūmu,’” which Tanaka composed, from her “Piacere!” concert tour setlists, according to ANN.
