Miki no Mikoto project cites 'inappropriate remarks during part of a radio show' as reason

The Miki no Mikoto (literally: Lords of Sacred Sake) franchise, which personifies various famous sake brands as pretty boys, announced on its website on Tuesday that voice actor Kaito Ishikawa will be dropped from the project, citing his "inappropriate remarks during part of a radio show" as the reason.

Ishikawa voiced Kanbai Koshino, a character based on the sake Koshi no Kanbai, made in Niigata at Ishimoto Sake Brewery. His agency's website acknowledged that Ishikawa has been dropped from the franchise due to his inappropriate comments on the radio show and issued an apology to the fans.

Although it is unclear which comment in particular sparked Ishikawa's resignation, the radio show in question may have been the "Kaito Ishikawa and Yoshiki Nakajima Chat For 10 Minutes" show, which streamed on the Manga Park app. The 32nd episode, which streamed on October 15, had the theme "dangerous things to drink." During the show, Ishikawa mentions that he does not drink alcohol because he is on a low-carbohydrates diet. Manga Park advertised the show with a tweet saying, "Is Japanese alcohol dangerous?!" This tweet has since been deleted. Furthermore, despite the average length of the radio show's episodes being 10 minutes, this particular episode was roughly six-and-a-half minutes, pointing to the likelihood that it was edited.

The story of the Miki no Mikoto franchise takes place in a large shopping area called "Yayoimachi" where gods and ayakashi (supernatural monsters) are rumored to appear. The Seishu no Miko (refined sake princes) work at the "Matsuyoian" drinking establishment there as shop-keeps, learning the way of Japan's famed omotenashi (hospitality). The project is inspiring a 13-episode series of anime shorts in 2020.

Source: Tokyo Sports