I've seen the same effect in some books depending on the spacing width. The letters leaning to the right make it appear that there's no space between the italics and the next word. However whenever I'd open up the book in Sigil to correct it, I discovered there always was a space there. It's just harder to see because of the italics leaning into the space. I don't believe it's a Kobo problem at all, but maybe the font or spacing choice.
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