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Report: NTV Halts Production on April 2025 Live-Action TV Project

Nippon Television vice president Hiroyuki Fukuda announced during the president's press conference in Tokyo on Monday that production on an April television project will be halted according to a report by Sponichi Annex.

Fukuda didn't give a specific reason for the change in production, but stated that the network was complying with the previously announced production guidelines. The guidelines follow the internal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the live-action Sexy Tanaka-san series, after the death of the show's original manga creator Hinako Ashihara in January.

The guidelines included measures to improve production process, safety, social media policies, and human resources.

NTV conducted an investigation in June concluding that while Ashihara stated in a blog post shortly before her death that she had originally set a condition that the live-action adaptation must always stay faithful to the manga. Due to miscommunication from the very start of negotiations and production, that message was never conveyed to the staff of the adaptation.

NTV then issued an apology in February, apologizing to all involved and expressing condolences to Ashihara's family. The network added at the time that it was is taking the situation seriously and would conduct its own investigation with an internal team. NTV cooperated with Shogakukan and an outside investigation team, including an outside lawyer.

The investigation revealed that there was a discrepancy between the two sides of the production from the beginning, including confusion around the ending of the series.

Update: Date corrected. Thanks, Takkun4343

Source: Sponichi Annex via Livedoor News, Hachima Kikō