Amid the controversy surrounding the alleged affair scandal of Nagano Mei and Tanaka Kei over the past month or so, the comments made by manga artist Higashimura Akiko recently are gaining attention as Nagano is the lead for the new movie "Kakukaku Shikajika" which is based on Higashimura's work. During her appearance on ABEMA's "Nichiyou The NIGHT Akiko to Osamu ga ichiyakagiri no kinkyuu nama housou" on 18 May 2025, Higashimura had the following to say about Shuukan Bunshun which first reported on the scandal:
"I know it's weird to say this, but I publish my manga through the publishing company Bungeishunju such as "Gisou Furin". Just two days after the news (about Nagano) was published, I had a meeting with the company to discuss my work.
While I'm proud to be working with a company which delivers joy through literary works, to have our hard work (the movie) which we poured our heart and soul into being destroyed by a single magazine fills me with so much pain. To be honest, it felt like I was dating someone with a split personality. Especially since I do interact with some of the editors at Bunshun (not involved in the reporting of this scandal though) and go for drinks with them, I was really shocked that Bunshun would do that to me."
From her comments, it seems that Higashimura feels that the negative attention on her movie as a result of Nagano's scandal was more to do with Bunshun's reporting and at this timing before the movie was to be screened. Given that she has a working relationship with the publisher, it seems that she probably expected some form of "consideration" (忖度) to be given because what Bunshun did was tantamount to "betrayal" of their ties.
Now...looking at the comments below the article, it looks like the public doesn't see it in the same way and feels that her anger seems to be wrongly directed at Bunshun rather than Nagano who created this mess with her actions. There are a few aspects to consider here:
Holding back on negative coverage and interfering with the business of another department in the same company?
Coincidentally, TBS' drama which Nagano also stars in, featured a similar development where the reporter in the societal news department was lashing out at her colleagues in the news reporting department that their negative news coverage about her contact would spoil the effort and trust she had spent in building the relationship. And this was met with the retort that because of this bending-over-backwards consideration for the interests of others / "sontaku" was what made their news reporting hardly effective and not reflective of reality.
Going by Higashimura's argument, because she has a working relationship with the literary publishing arm of Bungeishunju, Shuukan Bunshun should not have reported on this scandal, especially not just before the release of her movie? The thing is, the literary works department and the editorial department of Shuukan Bunshun are most likely operating independently so for one department to exert influence on the other probably doesn't work in real life. Besides, Shuukan Bunshun is known for not shying away from controversy and influence (whether you feel that their articles are good for the public interest is another issue though) so I strongly doubt that the literary works department has the power to make the magazine "cancel" out a juicy scoop they took time and effort to investigate.
Likewise, if you consider the fact that the literary arm is still doing business as usual with Higashimura after the scandal's report came to light, this can also be seen as a sign of how both departments operate independently. It is not known if the literary department were "apologetic" or did anything to pacify her in the meeting straight after the publication of Bunshun's report but honestly, there was no need for them to do so anyway since they didn't go anything wrong to her in the first place.
And if Higashimura has an issue with the timing of the reporting, perhaps TBS should be even madder at Bunshun for releasing the first report just one episode after they started showing "Caster"? And if Nagano and Tanaka had taken a different route after the first report e.g. admitting to the scandal, would the second report even have come out with more damning evidence? Too many "what-ifs" here to consider.
Is the fault of the scandal with the parties who created the mess or the media outlet which exposed them?
From what it seems, Higashimura does have a very good opinion of Nagano which is fair enough because the latter was picked for this role which is modelled after Higashimura herself. And whatever Nagano may have done or not done in her private life, that could be unrelated to how she worked and acted in this movie. As such, I think it's understandable that Higashimura is full of praise for Nagano's acting or hard work put in for the movie.
The issue here is, Higashimura's comments seem to suggest that the mess which is plaguing her movie is because of Shuukan Bunshun's reporting. This is what I struggle to reconcile - why are you not upset with your lead actress who plunged your movie into this controversy and created trouble for everyone but you lash out at the media outlet for exposing her? Erm...perhaps someone can explain to me why?
Would negative press about the cast necessarily cause the performance of a work to suffer?
Consumers do have a choice. If you don't like something or someone in the cast, you make your choice with your remote control (TV), mouse (online streaming) or wallet (cinema). People who won't want to watch something in the first place will not choose the work anyway regardless of what happens. And those who really want something will still go ahead despite the "obstructions".
For those who wouldn't want to watch "Caster" because of Nagano, they can make a conscious choice not to watch the drama. Conversely, if you want to watch the movie "Kakukaku Shikajika" or want to support Nagano, you visit the cinema voluntarily and pay for the ticket with the money in your wallet. It is arguable whether negative press about the cast will affect the performance of a work and by how much. However, it is a bit too simplistic to draw a definite correlation between the scandal and the performance of a work because there are many factors which can come into play.
Personally, as I've been watching "Caster" every week, I find that the messy storyline is more likely to make me drop this drama rather than me rolling eyes while watching Nagano mouth those self-righteous lines with the bad press she is mired in right now at the back of my mind. Likewise, you can argue that "Kakukaku Shikajika" may do better in the box office if Nagano wasn't caught in this scandal (No.4 in the first week of release) but looking at the latest weekly box office ranking, it is up against blockbusters like "Conan", "Mission Impossible" and "Minecraft" so that's definitely questionable.
I do not know what Higashimura intended to achieve by making those comments but whether they will help in her movie's performance in the box office, that remains to be seen. For now though, with both Nagano and Tanaka losing all their CM deals and being taken off projects due the cloud of doubt still hanging over their heads, those who are working with them can only pray that Bunshun or any other tabloid doesn't have an even more damning Part 3 to put the final nail in the coffin for their careers.
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