J-pop star Kenshin Kamimura pleads not guilty to indecent assault in Hong Kong
HONG KONG, April 15 (Reuters) - J-pop star Kenshin Kamimura pleaded not guilty to a charge of indecent assault before a Hong Kong court on Tuesday, after he was accused of assaulting a woman at a Hong Kong restaurant in March.
Kamimura, 25, is a former member of the six-member boy group ONE N' ONLY but was fired by his management agency, Stardust Promotion in March over "the discovery of a serious compliance violation", according to the company statement.
Kamimura's hands were shaking before the hearing began, and he broke out in tears after loudly pleading "not guilty" at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court.
When Magistrate Li Chi-ho asked if he needed a break, he said he could continue, adding "no problem" in Hong Kong's Cantonese language.
Under Hong Kong law, indecent assault carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment. Reuters was unable to reach Kamimura's lawyers for comment.
Dozens of his fans started queuing up outside the court early in the morning to get passes to enter the courtroom.
Some said they had flown in from Japan and China to see the star, known for his role in the Japanese drama "Our Youth".
A judiciary clerk said they have given away over 170 passes.
Kamimura was granted bail, with the next hearing scheduled for July 31 and expected to last 3 days.
According to the charge sheet seen by Reuters, he was charged with indecently assaulting a woman in a restaurant in the city's busy Mong Kok district on March 2 this year. The charge sheet did not provide further details.
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Press and Journal
11 hours ago
- Press and Journal
Beloved Inverness busker John Casey on tough start in Highlands, 30 years at Victorian Market and how city centre has changed
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He added: 'I was just born lucky, because I can't read or write music but if I hear a song I can learn it just by memory and I'll get the chords.' He started playing the guitar at age 12 and wrote his first song at 16. Mr Casey explained: 'I wrote it after a breakup with my first girlfriend, and it was my first sad song. 'It was the late 60s, early 70s when I was teaching myself how to play the guitar, so I was listening to songwriters who were becoming big, James Taylor, Don McLean, Ralph McTell. It was all about singer-songwriters at that time. 'And that's what I started doing, you know, introverted, lonely, sad singer, writing all these songs about how miserable they are.' The 69-year-old still sings what he considers his best hit, That's the Difference, a country love song he wrote aged 17 inspired by the music of Kris Kristofferson. After a decade in Edinburgh, Mr Casey decided to move up to Inverness following a break-up. He said: 'I was heartbroken, I had to move away. 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Most of the songs he plays are from the 1960s and 1970s, as he says that 'everybody is still into the 60s'. 'I get a lot of attention from the high school kids on Fridays, when they leave school early, and they ask for the Beatles, the Stones, Pink Floyd and Dylan,' he explained. Mr Casey's favourite band is the Beatles and his favourite singer is Frank Sinatra. However, his preferred song at the moment is Piano Man by Billy Joel. He said: 'It's a great song, and everybody knows it. And it's one of those songs that every time I sing it, at least one person walks past mouthing the words.' Over his more than three decades of busking, Mr Casey has collected several generous donations while performing. Many years ago, a lady in her 90s gave him an envelope with £1,000 in £50 notes. Another woman once gave him a £100 voucher for shoes. 'I must have looked as if I needed them,' he joked. He added: 'Somebody gave me a basket of fruit once. 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Daily Mirror
14 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
BBC Radio 2 icon Jo Whiley's heartbreak over tragic loss amid life milestone
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Radiating energy and happiness, Jo speaks with as much passion about music now as she did at the start of her career. Rising up through the ranks of radio, she's become an influential voice in the industry while presenting one of the biggest shows in the country. 'I'm super happy to be still doing my job,' grins the mum-of-four. 'I never had a game plan, never had any wild ambition or intention. I've just been phenomenally lucky to still be here doing a radio show, doing these gigs and going to festivals. I'm just really grateful people still want me.' A champion for new music and a celebrator of vintage tunes, Jo says she's delighted with the resurgence of 90s Britpop bands such as Oasis, Blur and Pulp, who were coming up in the industry at the time she was – and she's enjoying reuniting with them. 'All these bands I knew 30 years ago are still being phenomenally creative, and that's lovely,' she says. "But also, I'm enjoying talking to them as an adult. 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Surrounded by musical maestros full of words of wisdom, Jo is never short of valuable advice. She counts Coldplay frontman Chris Martin as one of her close friends, and says he's always on hand when she needs a pep talk. 'If ever I've had a tough time or something's going on, I've often turned to Chris, and he's really good at dispensing advice,' she shares. 'He tells me to just chill out. He's wise. I can't think of any particular piece of advice because they're often like long poems. 'Bono said the best piece of advice he'd been given was by Chrissie Hynde. She told him the best way to live is to make sure you live a long life and don't die choking on your own vomit somewhere. So the smart thing to do is to get fit, look after yourself and enjoy a long life.' That's certainly what Jo is doing. She's also enjoying a busy phase at work. Her latest project has involved travelling up and down the country by train with National Rail, narrating a new guide to locations that have inspired huge music acts. 'It's encouraging people to do pilgrimages to places where artists have been inspired to write songs, and that's a really lovely thing to do,' she explains. 'I can remember taking the train with my friends to the Haçienda in Manchester, going to see New Order or Happy Mondays – bands that were key to my career. 'Antony Szmierek, a new up and coming artist I love, has a song called The Great Pyramid Of Stockport , so I went there. I went to Denmark Street, where Elton John wrote Your Song , and visited the pub in Taylor Swift 's song, The Black Dog. It's been a real musical education.' Looking ahead to her 60th birthday in July, Jo shares her plans for a knees-up at her Northamptonshire home, surrounded by friends and family – including her husband, music executive Steve Morton, and their four children, India, 33, Jude, 26, Cassius, 24, and Coco, 16. 'I'm having a barn dance,' she reveals. 'I did it 10 years ago, so I thought I might as well do it again. We'll have a big old hoedown – cowboy boots, gingham, the lot. Or maybe I'll be Calamity Jane. I'm definitely dressing up. We have lots of parties and people always get dressed up. We've got the most insane fancy dress emporium above the garage, with many boxes of costumes we've worn over the years. I could open a fancy dress shop!' As she enters her seventh decade, what's next for Jo? Dreaming of more distant shores, Jo says, 'More than anything, I want to do more travelling, because I never have time to go away. Whether it's climbing Mount Snowdon or going to Japan or Canada… my greatest fear is I won't get to see those places. I need to make it happen.'
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Scottish Sun
Greggs mania as legions of JAPANESE fans desperate to visit UK to try firm's £1.30 sausage roll
Bemused Japanese journalists even interviewed families scoffing sausage rolls outside a branch in London LAND OF THE RISING CRUMB Greggs mania as legions of JAPANESE fans desperate to visit UK to try firm's £1.30 sausage roll Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) GREGGS has won a legion of followers in Japan after Madame Tussauds displayed a waxwork version of the bakery chain's sausage roll. Japanese expat influencers have been trying the British pastry favourite and waxing lyrical about it on TikTok. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Greggs has become a surprise hit in Japan, with the store even featured on national television Credit: 4 Japanese influencers have even travelled to the UK to test out sausage rolls Credit: 4 The interest in Japan was sparked by Greggs featuring at Madame Tussauds Credit: And their countrymen are now desperate to travel halfway around the world to try one for themselves. In one video, a Japanese TikTok influencer living in the UK tells her 10,000 followers she eats Greggs twice a day and says: 'If you plan to go to England, please try this.' Another said: 'Pretty sure it's a legal requirement in the UK to eat at least one Greggs.' The Newcastle-based chain became so well-known online that Japanese news channels have run TV reports explaining what it is. On one item on the popular Nippon TV network, a reporter tells viewers: 'Madame Tussauds, the wax museum that is one of London's popular tourist attractions, features numerous wax figures of British royal family members and world-famous celebrities. 'This time, the new exhibit is not a human, but a sausage roll — a popular snack in the UK. 'June 5 is designated as National Sausage Roll Day in the UK, and Madame Tussauds has created a wax replica of a sausage roll made to look just like the one sold by Greggs, a British chain. 'Greggs' sausage rolls are a beloved snack in the UK, with around one million sold each day. "The wax figure production team spent several months completing the piece, going through trial and error to recreate the flaky pastry layers and crisp texture of the sausage roll.' Greggs taste test Bemused Japanese journalists even interviewed families scoffing sausage rolls outside a branch in London, and asked why they liked them so much. One man, identified by the channel only as 'person eating', told viewers: 'The crust is crunchy, crispy and soft. The seasoning is really good.' Greggs was asked to comment on its new-found fame in the Far East. But after the waxwork was unveiled at Madame Tussauds in central London last week, Greggs CEO Roisin Currie, said: 'Seeing our sausage roll receive the celebrity treatment is a proud and slightly surreal moment for all of us.'
