Studio Ghibli continues to make waves in the anime industry, but not for a good reason this time. Recently, it was officially announced that Studio Ghibli president Koji Hoshino has resigned from the company.
The announcement was made following a report by Shukan Josei, which detailed a scandal within the company involving co-founder Toshio Suzuki.
Specifically, Suzuki is embroiled in an issue pertaining to the misappropriation of funds involving a Thai woman that he is seeing. Though in the announcement, Ghibli did not address this scandal.
Studio Ghibli’s Co-founder Embroiled in Reported Scandal
Last week, a report by Shukan Josei detailed a scandal involving Toshio Suzuki who is Ghibli’s co-founder alongside Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki.
In the report, it’s said that Suzuki has been seeing a Thai woman dating back to 2013, and it is said that he gifted her funds to start business ventures.
The report also detailed that Suzuki put the woman in charge of a company-backed restaurant in Thailand.
It doesn’t end there as Suzuki was also said to have hired the woman as a photographer despite her lack of skill in the field.
While the woman is not working for Studio Ghibli, the report mentioned that she was paid by the company for various projects. This has led to complaints from the employees.
It is said that the employee complaints caused Ghibli’s then-president Koji Hoshino to reprimand Suzuki. But it seems that Suzuki being the co-founder meant that Hoshino was forced to resign.
Now, it’s officially confirmed that Hoshino has resigned from his post. The Shukan Josei report turned out to be true as it mentioned Hoshino’s plans to step down even before Ghibli’s confirmation.
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Ghibli’s Koji Hoshino Formally Resigns
Studio Ghibli released an official statement from Hoshino regarding his resignation. There, he revealed that he has stepped down from his duties as President.
Though he also mentioned that he will stay on until the Annual General Meeting with shareholders, after which he will leave the company for good.
Hoshino did not address anything about the recent reports about Suzuki’s scandal.
Studio Ghibli also denied any connection between Hoshino’s resignation and the recent scandal.
The president’s resignation comes at an inopportune time given that Ghibli is gearing up for the release of Hayao Miyazaki’s next film, How Do You Live?
Despite the scandal and Hoshino’s resignation, Miyazaki’s next film is seemingly unaffected as it’s still scheduled to release in Japan this July.
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