Manga artist Hinako Ashihara, who reportedly had problems with a TV adaptation of her manga series “Sexy Tanaka-san,” has been found dead, investigative sources said.
Police believe she died by suicide.
Ashihara, 50, whose real name is Ritsuko Matsumoto, created the popular series “Sexy Tanaka-san,” which features a plain female office employee who moonlights as a belly dancer.
The manga was adapted into a TV drama series by Nippon Television Network Corp. last year.
Police received a call at around 4 p.m. on Jan. 28 from a person who was involved with her work that she was missing, according to sources.
A missing person report was officially filed at around 7 p.m. the same day.
Police found a body in Tochigi Prefecture that Ashihara’s relatives identified as being hers.
Before she disappeared, Ashihara shared on her social X account (formerly Twitter) her struggles with the differences between the content of her original work and the TV adaptation’s script.
