Novel/anime writer arrested on August 24 for allegedly hitting wife

38-year-old writer Tow Ubukata was released as of Tuesday without indictment on charges of domestic violence against his wife. The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office chose to release Ubukata, but charges are still pending.

Shibuya police arrested Ubukata on August 24 on charges of domestic violence against his wife. According to the police, Ubukata's wife claimed he hit her on her jaw and the area around her mouth. Ubukata allegedly hit his wife's face in their Tokyo apartment on August 21 at around 7 p.m., causing her front tooth to break. Ubukata denied the charges, saying "It's true that we quarreled, but I did not hit her."

Mito City mayor Yasushi Takahashi stated on August 26 that he had put on hold plans to accept NHK's offer to set its live-action "Taiga Drama" adaptation of Tow Ubukata's Mitsukuni-den novel in the city. Mayor Takahashi stated, "It is regrettable that it happened. I was scheduled to meet NHK in September, but I have put those plans on hold."

Ubukata debuted as a short story writer in 1996, and he won the Kadokawa Sneaker Grand Prize with the work "Kuroi Kisetsu" (Black Season). He won the Eiji Yoshikawa Award for New Writers in 2009 for Tenchi Meisatsu , and the Fūtarō Yamada Award in 2012 for Mitsukuniden . He wrote the original novel that inspired the Mardock Scramble anime films, and has also served as the series composition writer for Ghost in the Shell Arise, Psycho-Pass 2, Heroic Age, Fafner EXODUS, and Le Chevalier D'Eon.

Source: Sponichi Annex via Yaraon!