What do you think is the main reason they are doing this? To protect Grapara's image so it doesn't hurt it sales (like that's possible now lol), or to protect their own brand from any criticism that paints them as a bad guy for letting this happen?
I personally don't see the point in removing anything now. The damage is done, we already saw how vol 13 tanked almost immediately...
Reasons are :
1) To please its VIP customer,
Airi Katsura (sensei) who rent the web space for
Grapara. (She can go any place)
2) To prevent the customer (online readers) from not buying their products (Grapara electronic version) after reading the reviews (comments)
3) To cover their own fault because the content of
Grapara promotes crimes such as raping.
If you don't believe me, just type "rape" in your Japanese comment. You'll see how fast they delete it. LOL
This is a normal Japanese culture in work place. They tend to cover up their mistakes to keep senior management from finding out, attempting to handle the issue internally or doing nothing as wish the problem will disappear !
The matter only comes to light when it has already spiraled out of control, resulting in their dismissal but by then the company has suffered significant damage. (This is based on my personal experience working with Japanese colleagues and companies for many years.)
Japanese people are familiar to lie especially in order to keep their good image (like cucboy concerns). Image is everything. It is a nature to them to lie and keep mistakes secret (like Sakura).