Former Johnny's group Tokio to disband after scandal revelation
Former Johnny's group Tokio to disband after scandal revelation
TOKYO – Japanese pop group Tokio, formerly part of the now-defunct boy band empire Johnny & Associates, said on June 25 that they have decided to disband following member Taichi Kokubun's hiatus over a misconduct scandal, according to a statement on their official website.
'We decided it would be difficult to regain trust and continue receiving support as a group,' Tokio posted.
Kokubun, 50, was axed from The Tetsuwan Dash – a variety programme aired by Nippon Television Network and fronted by the members of Tokio – on June 20.
Following the announcement, Kokubun said he was indefinitely suspending his activities in a statement from his office, also named Tokio.
Neither Kokubun nor his office has elaborated on what the breaches entailed, but a source close to the matter said they involved behaviour that could be considered sexual harassment.
Tokio debuted under Johnny & Associates in 1994 with five members. They are leader and main guitarist Shigeru Joshima, 54; bassist Tatsuya Yamaguchi, 53; keyboardist Kokubun; drummer Masahiro Matsuoka, 48; and vocalist and guitarist Tomoya Nagase, 46.
The all-male group are widely known in Japan for their support for Fukushima following the 2011 accident at the prefecture's nuclear power plant.
Tokio helped promote local agricultural products through commercials, as their variety programme had featured them engaging in farming in Fukushima.
Yamaguchi's contract with Johnny & Associates was terminated in 2018 after he forcibly kissed a high school girl at his home, while Nagase left Tokio in 2021 to pursue his own endeavours.
Following Nagase's departure, the remaining three members of the group established a new company under the name 'Tokio', which operated in affiliation with Johnny & Associates.
Johnny & Associates changed its name to Smile-Up in 2023 after hundreds of sexual abuse allegations surfaced against the agency's founder Johnny Kitagawa, who died in 2019 at age 87.
Tokio's dissolution came after a recent sexual scandal involving Masahiro Nakai, 52, the former leader of Japanese male idol group Smap.
A third-party panel probing Fuji Television Network and its handling of the scandal involving Nakai concluded in March that the former TV host sexually assaulted a female employee, amid a culture of harassment at the major Japanese network. KYODO NEWS
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