Yakuza Kiwami 3: Why the Director Stood by Teruyuki Kagawa — And What Players Should Do

This caught my attention because Yakuza has long positioned itself as a series that condemns abuse even while it dramatizes crime – so casting a real-world accused offender as a sleazy antagonist forces a clash between artistic intent and ethical accountability. Fans are loud, mods are already busy, and the studio appears to have made a clear choice: performance over optics.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 Casting Controversy: Director Defends Teruyuki Kagawa and Fan Backlash

• Key takeaway: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (RGG) kept Teruyuki Kagawa as Goh Hamazaki, with director Ryosuke Horii saying Kagawa’s “sleazy” persona best serves the role.
• Community reaction: #RemoveKagawa trended, a Change.org petition neared 10,000 signatures, and fans demanded a recast or opt-outs.
• Practical impact: The February 20, 2026 launch retained Kagawa’s voice and performance; PC mods and voice-swap tools are the main workaround for dissenting players.
• Why it matters: The decision highlights a growing tension in Japanese game development between “authentic” casting and global expectations around accountability.

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Publisher|Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / Sega
Release Date|February 20, 2026
Category|Action / Story-driven (Yakuza series)
Platform|PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
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What the director actually said – and the studio’s priority

In a January 2026 interview that resurfaced ahead of launch, Horii explained the choice bluntly: Hamazaki’s role required someone who makes players recoil – “a creep” — and Kagawa fit that “nasty” profile. Horii acknowledged the backlash but framed the decision as an artistic one: the team “felt there was no use being afraid.” RGG’s public communications otherwise focused on technical issues and patches rather than recasting or removals.

Why fans pushed back

Many fans pointed out the series’ moral center — Kiryu routinely punishes abusers and protects vulnerable characters — and argued that platforming an actor who admitted to groping in 2019 undermines that message. The campaign used social media, a Change.org petition and large Reddit threads to demand recasting or at least an option to mute/replace the voice. That pressure influenced community projects (voice-swap mods, pitch adjustments) much more quickly than RGG shifted official policy.

How this affects your play experience

If Kagawa’s presence matters to your purchase decision: the game shipped with his performance intact. For PC players the immediate route is modding — Nexus Mods already hosts voice-swap and “creep-free” packages. Console players are limited: chapter skips, theater mode, or simply avoiding Hamazaki scenes are the only in-game options. The story content involving Hamazaki is substantial but skippable post-clear via chapter select.

Beyond mods, the controversy has practical consequences: player discussion and reviews often reference the casting when evaluating the narrative, and some community members say it lowered their enjoyment of Hamazaki scenes even when the performance is technically strong (high lip-sync, new animations). Sales data suggests the title still performed well at launch, but the debate may influence future casting choices and PR handling by Japanese studios.

My read: art, accountability, and the patchwork solution

RGG’s stance — choosing an actor for a specific, disturbing energy — is defensible artistically. But art does not exist in a vacuum: audience standards, especially around sexual misconduct, have changed. The predictable outcome we’re seeing is a patchwork compromise: the studio sticks to its casting; the community produces opt-out tools (mods, voice swaps); and the debate becomes another metric publishers must weigh against creative goals.

What you can do right now

• Try the PS5 demo to hear the performance before you buy (if accessible).
• PC players who object can install voice-swap mods from Nexus Mods; always back up saves.
• If you want to influence publishers, campaigns and constructive feedback via official support channels tend to be more visible than anonymous complaints.

TL;DR

RGG deliberately cast Teruyuki Kagawa for Goh Hamazaki because they believed his persona served the role; fans argued this choice contradicts the series’ anti-abuse themes. The studio has not recast — the practical resolution for concerned players is community-made mods or skipping content. This is a case study in how contemporary ethical expectations shape reactions to otherwise creative decisions.