“Romantic Feelings = Physical Contact?” The “Too Close” Distance of a Former Voice Actor Convicted of Indecent Acts Against a Minor

The Details of the “Serious Breach of Contract”

“I trampled on the feelings of my classmates from the training school (back when I couldn’t get into an agency as a voice actor) and my colleagues at the agency who told me, ‘Let’s work hard together from now on.’”

During cross-examination, the defendant, former voice actor Kazuki Atsumi (31), offered words of apology to his former colleagues.

Atsumi, who said his dream was “to become a voice actor,” entered the acting training school affiliated with Mouse Promotion, a major industry player, in April 2023. While working at a child welfare facility, he honed his skills and was finally officially signed to the agency in April 2025.

He subsequently appeared in anime such as *That Dress-Up Doll Is in Love: Season 2* and *Tanzaburo Higashijima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider*. Just as he was about to launch his career in earnest, he was charged with non-consensual sexual intercourse with a minor and non-consensual indecent acts.

It has been revealed that defendant Atami, who was sentenced to “six years in prison (prosecutors had sought seven years)” in the first-instance trial held at the Tokyo District Court, filed an appeal by the October 15 deadline.

On May 21—approximately five months prior to the verdict—Mouse Promotion suddenly announced the termination of Atami’s contract. The agency’s official website explained, “We have decided to terminate the management contract due to a serious breach of contract.”

Uncertain as to what the agency meant by “serious breach of contract, ” fans were unsettled, asking , “What on earth did he do?” However, the details came to light about a week later. The defendant, Atami, had committed an offense at a child protection facility in Tokyo where he was working as a part-time staff member.

“On May 27, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Juvenile Affairs Division arrested Defendant Atami, who was working as a part-time staff member, on suspicion of non-consensual sexual intercourse and other charges for having sexual relations with Ms. A (15 at the time), who was a resident at a child protection facility in Tokyo.Atami stated, ‘While she was at the child protection facility, I didn’t consider her to be my girlfriend. We had sexual intercourse about 30 times,’ claiming they began dating after she left the facility; however, the facility terminated his employment,” said a social affairs reporter for a national newspaper.

Atami faced additional charges as well.

“On June 17, he was re-arrested on suspicion of non-consensual indecent acts for touching and kissing an 11-year-old elementary school student, B, who was also a resident at the same child protection facility. During an interview with facility staff, B reportedly explained, ‘He asked if it was okay to kiss me, but I was too scared to say no.It felt so disgusting that I had to rinse my mouth.” The defendant, Atami, admitted to the charges,” (ibid.)

The defendant, Atami, began working at this child protection facility in June ’24.Since the facility housed several underage female residents, strict rules were in place—particularly for male staff—regarding how to interact with residents and maintain appropriate physical distance. In fact, it is said that the defendant, Atami, had been explicitly warned : “Please be careful, as residents may sometimes approach you on their own.”

“No way,” he said, shaking his head.

However, it seems the relationship between Defendant Atami and the residents was closer than those around him realized. The written statement from the facility director, read aloud in court, stated the following:

“〈The defendant was gentle with the children and popular, but I was concerned about how close he was to the residents and his lack of vigilance, so I had counseled him on the matter. I believed he understood, so I feel completely betrayed.〉”

Among the residents, he was particularly close to two individuals, Ms. A and Ms. B. Both reportedly showed affection toward Defendant Atami and often spoke to him. With Ms. A, he had a relationship that was “less than romantic,” as he stated during the police investigation, but at some point, they began engaging in repeated sexual acts within the facility.

In court, Defendant Atami stated the following:

“While Ms. A was a resident, as I listened to her confide in me about various things, I thought, ‘I want to do whatever I can to help her,’ and gradually began to develop feelings for her. Even after she left the facility, we kept in touch via social media, and last July, the day before Ms. A’s 15th birthday, I asked her, ‘Will you go out with me?’ and we began dating.”

After that, they reportedly engaged in sexual acts repeatedly at hotels and rental rooms.

Regarding his relationship with Ms. B, he stated the following:

“There was a time when I listened to Ms. B while she was crying, and from then on, she started talking to me. She would follow me around while I was working and even ask me to ‘marry her’—she was clearly showing her affection for me.

I found myself feeling jealous when she would suddenly act distant or flaunt her closeness with another male staff member, and that’s when I started to wonder if I might have romantic feelings for her. Then, my feelings gradually shifted toward wanting to reciprocate her feelings.”

Perhaps he could no longer contain those feelings. On the night before Ms. B was scheduled to leave the facility, Defendant Atami committed an indecent act by kissing her and touching her chest. Defendant Atami recalled Ms. B’s reaction at that time as follows:

“She said, ‘No way,’ shook her head, and seemed reluctant. When I touched her chest, she pushed my hand away, so I thought she really didn’t want it and let go once. But then she said, ‘It’s okay,’ and took my hand. In the end, I told her, ‘You should head back now,’ and walked her back to her room.”

On the other hand, Ms. B reportedly made the following statement during questioning.

“The night before I left the facility, the defendant kissed me, hugged me, and touched my chest with his hand. When I pushed his hand away, he said, ‘I’m sorry.’ I found what the defendant did to me disgusting and unforgivable. When I told the other children what the defendant had done to me, the facility questioned me.”

As a result, the facility staff became aware of Defendant Atami’s indecent acts. It appears he was also interviewed, and on May 20, Ms. A—who had been contacted by Defendant Atami—went to the police station with her mother to report the matter.

“I thought romantic feelings meant physical intimacy.”

According to the written statement from Ms. A’s mother, which was read aloud in court, Ms. A confided in her that she was “dating a staff member at the facility where she was staying.” Ms. A’s mother stated that Ms. A told her, “That man (Defendant Atami) said, ‘It came out that I kissed another girl who was staying at the facility, so I’m going to turn myself in to the police.‘Since it’ll eventually come out that I’m involved with you too, I’m going to tell the police about you as well.’” She explained that this was why she took A to the police.

Ms. A’s mother expressed her anger in this way.

“At the time the defendant was having a sexual relationship with A, she was 14 or 15 years old. I felt intense outrage at his selfish and despicable behavior toward a minor lacking the capacity to make sound judgments. I do not believe he is qualified to work at a child welfare facility, which is meant to protect children. I hope he will be severely punished so that something like this never happens again.”

On the 21st, the day after A went to the police for help, Mouse Promotion announced the “termination of the agency contract” with Defendant Atami. He was dismissed from the children’s home on the 22nd and arrested on the 27th.

During the defendant’s questioning, when the prosecutor asked , “Weren’t you engaging in sexual acts simply because you wanted to satisfy your own sexual desires with those children?” Defendant Atami replied, “That was part of it, but it wasn’t 100 percent, ” and continued as follows:

“In my heart, the idea that romantic feelings equaled physical intimacy played a fairly significant role. (The sexual acts) felt like a way to have that woman all to myself and to close the emotional distance between us.”

Furthermore, when questioned by the prosecutor about the fact that the victims were young—under 13 and under 16—he denied having such sexual preferences, stating , “I myself do not believe I have such sexual preferences.”

Going forward, Atami’s trial will be heard in the High Court.

In the first trial, the defense argued that “the defendant was in a romantic relationship with A” and that “B also showed affection toward the defendant by suddenly hugging him and giving him a letter saying ‘I love you,’” and therefore claimed that “he did not engage in sexual acts through assault, intimidation, or similar means, ” requesting a suspended sentence.Although this argument was not accepted, will Defendant Atami continue to seek a suspended sentence in the second trial as well?