ALT A photo of Toshihiro Nagoshi next the cover of his cancelled game Gang of Dragon accompanied by a translated excerpt from a Nagoshi interview conducted in Famitsu #1952 on 2026-06-18: “No matter how times change, gaming will never disappear from the entertainment sphere. From past to present, arcade to console, handheld to mobile—even digital downloads coming to PC. As trendsetting sectors continue to evolve, games will continue to captivate the world. “Being involved in the game industry will forever be a wonderful experience that sparks joy. That said, as you go on making games, you are also bound to suffer grief and hardship on many occasions. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, myself. But with love for the works I once admired and the help of those around me, I was able to overcome them one way or another. “Those who live to entertain can’t always be smiling. But I want to believe the more you wince in pain, the more the fans can smile. Let’s persevere together.”

ALT A shot of Teruyuki Kagawa as Goh Hamazaki in Yakuza Kiwami 3 with his face mosaic blurred out, accompanied by an excerpt from a GAME Watch interview with Ryosuke Horii on 2026-02-05: Horii: “Rikiya and Hamazaki are both key characters to the story, so it would certainly be safer not to recast them and avoid online criticism (laughs). But we felt there was no use being afraid. We based our decision on what excited us and made us think, ‘This is who we want to perform,’ or ‘What if we cast this person?’ […] Hamazaki is a sleazy, persistent, and militant yakuza, right? Since he isn’t an explosive character like Kanda, when we tried to think of someone who makes you go, ‘This guy’s a creep,’ naturally it was Kagawa-san. The biggest thing was just had to see that. Kagawa-san’s acting is fun to watch. Even when he’s chopping a pig’s feet off with a chef’s knife, it has a slimy feel.”

ALT Mobile screenshots of 38 articles about the #REMOVEKAGAWA movement, captioned “38 #REMOVEKAGAWA articles published. Polygon reaches out to Sega.” There is a screenshot of the Polygon article at the bottom that reads, “Polygon has contacted Sega for comment on Kagawa’s role in the upcoming game and will update when the company responds.”

ALT A comparison of Pierre Taki as Kyohei Hamura in Judgment and the new, original model for Hamura after he was recast, captioned: “Pierre Taki Recast in 15 Days Following Scandal “March 17, 2019: Pierre Taki is arrested on suspicion of drug use. Sega announces it is halting sales of Judgment. “March 22, 2019: Sega announces it is replacing Pierre Taki’s likeness and performance in the West. “April 6, 2019: Nagoshi states the replacement process is complete. “June 25, 2019: Judgment releases with no delays four months after the scandal.” The cover of Metaphor: ReFantazio and a photo of Toru Furuya, captioned: “Toru Furuya Recast in 6 Weeks Following Scandal “May 22, 2024: Toru Furuya admits to abusive affair on social media as reported earlier the same day. “June 11, 2024: Sega announces it is replacing Furuya’s performance in Metaphor: ReFantazio. “July 6, 2024: Sega reveals the recast actor, Takehito Koyasu. “October 11, 2024: Metaphor releases with no delays six months after.”