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One of Japan’s biggest manga publishers just apologized to one of its manga creators over poor working conditions
Akane Shimizu recently went public with the impacts of her abuse during the Cells at Work! serialization. Now Kodansha has issued an apology for mistakes made by their editorial team
NewsbyTrent Cannon, Senior Contributing writer
Published on Mon Jul 06 2026
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Years after it stopped being serialized, the Cells at Work! manga has been hit by controversy this year. After creator Akane Shimizu went publicwith the multiple levels of harassment and abuse at the hands of someone close to her during the Cells at Work! serialization, publisher Kodansha has issued an apology for their “inappropriate handling of these matter.”
The text appeared on the Kodansha website and was clearly the company’s attempt to prevent the issue from becoming an even larger problem for them. “Between July 1 and July 3, 2026, Akane Shimizu, the author of Cells at Work!, published by Kodansha, made a series of posts on X regarding the medical supervision system during the manga’s serialization (including periods of hiatus), her working environment, the conduct of the editor in charge at the time, and the crediting of derivative works released after the serialization ended.”
“Despite receiving multiple requests from Ms. Shimizu during the serialization to improve her working conditions, we failed to properly establish an adequate medical supervision system and provide an appropriate working environment for creating the manga, including arranging assistants,” the statement continues. It also admits that issues around Shimizu’s involvement in spin-off material, including the live-action film, was not agreed ahead of time, which caused “significant burden and emotional distress caused to Ms. Shimizu due to shortcomings in our editorial department’s management system and our inappropriate handling of these matters.”
The editor in question, who is not named in the statement, is said to no longer working with Shimizu, though it is not clear if they are still employed at Kodansha.
The bright side of all this appears to be that Akane Shimizu’s concerns are being addressed. “As Ms. Shimizu also stated in her posts, we are currently engaged in sincere discussions with her… to reach a resolution regarding the issues arising from past events. We have also confirmed that Ms. Shimizu is now working in a positive environment where her wishes are given the highest priority, both in terms of her current support system and the development of new projects.”
In response,Akane Shimizu posted on social media that “discussions with Kodansha are currently underway. Additionally, for the ongoing spin-offs, tie-ups, other licensed works, and new projects, all of them have been confirmed with me, and production is proceeding only after I have personally approved and consented to them.”
Perhaps most importantly, the Cells at Work! creator confirmed that she has “also built a good relationship with my current editor.”
Thus far, it appears to be a happy ending for Akane Shimizu with regard to the toxic work environment she experienced, while it isn’t clear if the editor directly responsible has faced any significant consequences; Kodansha is making sure they make her welfare and involvement a priority until the two parties come to a more substantial agreement
Each week, Popverse’s resident anime expert Trent Cannon runs down the latest and, dare we say “greatest,” in anime and manga in Popverse Jump. Some recent columns have included…
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- From Tomo-Chan to Oshi No Ko: How some of your favorite manga creators got their start in hentai
- Piracy is baked into anime’s past, but, like Crunchyroll, we should move on from it
- Flying whales, mechs, and Miyazaki vibes: Inside Netflix’s Leviathan anime with the people who made it
- How AI translations of manga continues the ‘enshitification’ of the medium, and why Japanese publishers are “less precious” about it
- I never wanted a Cyberpunk Edgerunners sequel, but God help me I’m going to watch it
- The Summer Hikaru Died delivers its cosmic horror at an agonizingly slow pace
- The one thing that Dan Da Dan does better than Demon Slayer ever did
- Studio Ghibli movies have never been as cozy as you think they are and that’s what makes them magic
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Trent Cannon: Trent is a freelance writer who has been covering anime, video games, and pop culture for a decade. (He/Him)
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