Kodansha Employee Busted for Sending Fake Email Survey to Manga Bloggers

On November 28th, a Kodansha employee, pretending to be a college student conducting marketing research, sent email surveys to Japanese manga bloggers to obtain "confidential" information on Japanese manga blogs. Kodansha has released an apology on their website stating that "this is an 'abominable act,' and the person responsible will be dealt with accordingly."

According to Kodansha's announcement, between November 2nd to 19th, the email questionnaire was sent to 156 manga bloggers. The email said: "I'm a college student currently studying internet marketing" and asked blog owners for stats such as the numbers of visitors and how they decide on what titles to talk about in their blogs. "I will keep your personal information confidential, and will never use this information for any other purposes."

A blogger was suspicious of the email because the answer form indicated that the survey was from the "Kodansha Information System Department." Kodansha apologize after the blogger contacted Kodansha regarding the survey.

Source: Yomiuri Shimbun