Your Name Producer Kouichirou Itou Faces A New Heinous Accusation
Kouichirou Itou paid 20,000 yen in cash to the minor to perform the obscene acts.
After being accused and arrested in February for soliciting nude photos from a minor, Kouichirou Itou, producer of Your Name, is now facing a new accusation.
On Friday, the authorities also charged Itou for allegedly exchanging money with a minor last November with complete knowledge of her age for obscene acts, including nonconsensual sexual intercourse.
According to investigators, Itou has also admitted these charges.
Kyoto Shimbun newspaper reported that Itou allegedly met the girl on social media in July 2022, and in November 2023, he paid her 20,000 yen (133 USD) in cash to perform the obscene acts with complete knowledge that she was under 16 years of age.
Upon his arrest in February, Itou admitted to the charge, and according to authorities, he claimed that he had “done it with other people so [he couldn’t] tell if it was this girl or not.”
Authorities state that Itou asked the girl for her pictures in September 2021, knowing that she was a minor at the time.
Police also stated that Itou’s possible involvement was discovered during a different prostitution investigation.
Furthermore, authorities are probing for potential additional victims linked to Itou.
Kouichirou Itou has worked as the producer of numerous films by director Makoto Shinkai, like Your Name, Weathering With You, and Suzume.
Source: Fuji News Network, Kyoto Shimbun via Hachima Kiko
