The Anime News Network is reporting that two Japanese TV stations have suspended broadcast of the controversial Kodomo no Jikan (Nymphet) anime series, citing the solicitation of a 16-year-old girl by the Vice-Principal of an elementary school in the city of Sapporo.  The incident took place in a deai-kei cafe -- a 'cafe for encounters' that facilitates introductions between strangers.

Pulling an anime series because of an incident that is only tangentially-related -- there does appear to be an obvious difference between a 54-year-old adult soliciting a teenage girl and an anime about a grade school girl making very inappropriate advances to her teacher -- appears to be quite bizarre and is undoubtedly due to the anime series' controversial reputation (and to growing Japanese embarassment about anything that smacks of 'Lolicon') rather than to any close parallels between the real life incident in Sapporo and the contents of the Kodomo no Jikan anime.

The original Kodomo no Jikan manga series on which the anime is based, which is written and drawn by a female creator for an older teenage male audience (seinen), is no stranger to controversy.  After licensing the manga Seven Seas Entertainment decided not to publish it here in the States (see 'Seven Seas Kills Nymphet').