Tecmo’s Itagaki Sued for Sexual Harassment
Tomonobu Itagaki, the creator of the DOA series who’s known for his rock star-like appearance and attitude, is apparently on trial following a sexual harassment lawsuit levied against him by a former Tecmo employee.
A Japanese entertainment site called ZakZak has reported that Tecmo’s Tomonobu Itagaki, creator of the popular Dead or Alive franchise, has been hit with a 10 million yen lawsuit by a former Tecmo worker that has alleged she had been sexually harassed by Itagaki. Back in August, the Team Ninja leader at Tecmo was demoted from Executive Officer to Managing Executive Officer, but it’s not clear if sexual harassment allegations had anything to do with that move.
The former Tecmo employee quit the company on September 8, 2006 and just two days later filed her suit against Itagaki and Tecmo. She claims that the sexual harassment started over three years ago in a taxi when she was returning from a party after a meeting with managers from another company. The woman alleges that Itagaki forced himself on her and started kissing her. The harassment reportedly continued over the years, with Itagaki supposedly embracing her on several occasions, including at a hotel during last year’s E3Expo.
According to the plaintiff, when she went to complain to Tecmo management she was essentially turned away. They told her to “do something about it” by herself. The situation had been so stressful for her that she missed some time from work as a result. Eventually, the head of Tecmo’s Human Resources conducted an investigation into the matter and came to a somewhat contradictory conclusion. While Tecmo found Itagaki’s action to be improper (which is supposedly why he was demoted), they also said that his kisses were part of the “mutual affection” the two had for each other.
Naturally, this was not the response the woman was looking for and she subsequently resigned from Tecmo. According to Evening Fuji, ZakZak’s sister-publication, Tecmo management stated that “there was a difference of opinions, and it will be cleared up in the trial.”
Source: Xboxic.com.