Japanese pop star guilty of assaulting interpreter

The Star

4 days ago

Japanese actor Kenshin Kamimura arrives at the West Kowloon law courts for the verdict in his sexual assault case in Hong Kong on August 13, 2025. (Photo by ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP)
Japanese pop idol Kenshin Kamimura (pic) was found guilty of a charge of indecent assault on a female interpreter in a Hong Kong court before some emotional fans.
Kamimura, a former member of a Japanese boy group named ONE N' ONLY, was arrested in the southern Chinese city in March.
In the same month, his contract was terminated due to a serious compliance violation. In April, he pleaded not guilty.
He allegedly touched the interpreter's thigh repeatedly during a celebratory dinner at a restaurant.
During the trial last month, the interpreter testified through a live video link that Kamimura had invited her to a bathroom elsewhere.
After she dismissed the request and told him she had a boyfriend, Kamimura conti­nued to touch her thigh, she said.
The defence argued the interpreter exaggerated her claims and the alleged bathroom invitation might not have been based on improper motives.
Judge Peter Yu handed down the conviction yesterday, saying Kamimura touched the interpreter in a caressing nature that implicitly carried a sexual undertone and had indecent intent.
'The defendant's acts are obviously disrespectful toward women,' Yu said.
'Such beha­viour should be condemned.'
In pleading for a lesser penalty, the defence said Kamimura previously had a promising future and paid a heavy price.
After the verdict was announced, a few of Kamimura's fans wept in the courtroom.
But Kamimura looked relieved and hugged his courtroom translator when the judge issued a fine of HK$15,000 (RM8,000) and no prison term. The maximum penal­ty for the charge is 10 years of imprisonment. — AP