Sexual Harassment Charges Against Itagaki Dismissed

You might remember about a year ago, sexual harassment charges were brought up against Tomonobu Itagaki, the famed Team Ninja developer responsible for the Dead or Alive series and Ninja Gaiden. Supposedly, he forced himself upon a woman that he kissed, as well as wrapped his arms around her several times. When Tecmo (of which Team Ninja is a subsidiary) instructed the woman to take care of the situation herself, she files a lawsuit against Itagaki. Today those charges were dismissed when a Toyko District Court found Itagaki innocent.

“A verdict has been handed out in the sexual harassment case that was brought against me by a former female employee of Tecmo. I have held my head high and have fought the good fight for the past year in order to clear my name and to uphold the reputations of Team NINJA and of Tecmo,” said Itagaki to 1UP. “The former employee’s arguments were judged to have been false, and all claims that she has brought against me have been dismissed.”

I’m glad to see Itagaki was innocent, as he’s one of my favorite individuals in the game development community.