Latest news with #disband
Malay Mail
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
J-pop megaband Tokio ends 30-year run after member's alleged misconduct, says trust lost
TOKYO, June 26 — A popular Japanese pop group hired to be the poster boy of disaster-hit Fukushima has announced it is disbanding following the latest scandal to hit the country's embattled entertainment sector. Five-member Tokio emerged in 1994 from Japan's now notorious boyband empire Johnny and Associates, which unravelled in 2023 following revelations about its late founder's decades-long sexual abuse of young boys. Recent years have seen Tokio trimmed to a trio, and in a final death blow, it declared itself defunct yesterday after it emerged that one of its members had engaged in unspecified misconduct. Details surrounding the alleged misbehaviour of Taichi Kokubun, 50, are scarce, with official statements vaguely describing it as a 'violation of compliance protocols'. A few mainstream media outlets in Japan, including Kyodo News, cited 'behaviour that could be considered sexual harassment,' quoting unnamed sources. 'We have decided it's no longer possible for Tokio to regain the trust and support of everyone', the group's statement, released Wednesday, said. Aside from its music success, Tokio for long had another face: the ambassador for Japan's Fukushima region, hit in 2011 by a huge earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. Tokio's relationship with Fukushima predates the disaster, but afterwards it deepened even more with its members tapped to promote the region's reconstruction efforts and food safety. Fukushima's prefectural government even has the 'Tokio Department', a division tasked with collaborating with the musicians to communicate the region's attractiveness. 'For many years, Taichi Kokubun has aligned himself close to us and spread word' of Fukushima, its local government said in a statement, describing Tokio's disbandment as 'extremely regrettable'. 'Tokio's contributions to our prefecture's reconstruction are significant', it added. Kokubun's fall in disgrace is just the latest in a recent series of bombshell scandals to rock Japan's showbiz industry. Johnny & Associates, which has since changed its name, admitted in 2023 that its late founder Johnny Kitagawa had sexually assaulted teenage boys and young men for decades. More recently, high-profile celebrities have found themselves entangled in sexual assault allegations, including J-pop megastar-turned-TV host Masahiro Nakai, who announced his retirement earlier this year. The Nakai saga shed the spotlight on the toxic culture of young women being pressed into attending dinners and drinking parties with powerful industry figures. — AFP
Malay Mail
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Confusion as agency denies K-pop girl group ILY:1 disbanding, despite ‘returning to individual lives' message
SEOUL, June 25 — K-pop girl group ILY:1 recently sparked rumours that it will disband, after posting a message to their fans. On X, the six-member group said the time it spent laughing and crying with fans after three years was truly unforgettable. 'Thank you for showing us how beautiful and warm it can be to support someone, and for teaching us that such feelings can be the greatest driving force in life,' it posted. 'Although we're now returning to our individual lives, we hope the precious memories made together with ILY:1 will continue to give Only:1 strength in your everyday lives until the day we meet again.' The post, which came out following the conclusion of its Dear My Only:1 concert in Japan, was confirmed by several Korean news outlets. However, confusion arose after its agency FCENM denied that the group would end its run. 'Currently, ILY:1 is continuing their group activities without disbandment or suspension. The members are in the process of regrouping and preparing to greet fans with an even better version of themselves. 'Speculative content that differs from the truth may cause unnecessary concern and misunderstanding for both the members and fans,' it said. The agency also called for support from fans of the group, made up of two Korean, two Japanese and two Taiwanese members. ILY:1 debuted in January 2022 with the title track 'Love in Bloom'. It last released an EP, illang:Firework, in August last year.
Arab News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
PKK urges Turkiye to ease leader's solitary confinement for any peace talks
SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq: The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has said Türkiye should ease prison conditions for its founder Abdullah Ocalan, declaring him the group's 'chief negotiator' for any future talks after a decision to disband. The Kurdish group, blacklisted by Ankara and its Western allies, announced on May 12 it had adopted a decision to disarm and disband after a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state that cost more than 40,000 lives. The group's historic decision came after an appeal by Ocalan, made in a letter from Istanbul's Imrali prison island where he has been held since 1999. Zagros Hiwa, spokesman for the PKK's political wing, told AFP on Monday that 'we expect that the Turkish state makes amendments in the solitary confinement conditions' to allow Ocalan 'free and secure work conditions so that he could lead the process.' 'Leader Apo is our chief negotiator' for any talks with Türkiye, Hiwa added in an interview, referring to Ocalan. 'Only Leader Apo can lead the practical implementation of the decision taken by the PKK.' The disbanding mechanisms are unclear yet, but the Turkish government has said it would carefully monitor the process to ensure full implementation. Hiwa said the PKK has shown 'seriousness regarding peace,' but 'till now the Turkish state has not given any guarantees and taken any measure for facilitating the process' and continued its 'bombardments and artillery shellings' against the Kurdish group's positions. The PKK operates rear bases in Iraq's autonomous northern Kurdistan region, where Türkiye also maintains military bases and often carries out air and ground operations against the Kurdish militants. Turkish media reports have suggested that militants who had committed no crime on Turkish soil could return without fear of prosecution, but that PKK leaders might be forced into exile or stay behind in Iraq. Hiwa said the PKK objects to its members or leaders being forced to leave, saying that 'real peace requires integration, not exile.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Türkiye Says in Talks with Baghdad, Erbil on PKK Weapons Handover
Türkiye is in talks with authorities in Baghdad and in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil on how Kurdish militants of the PKK will hand over their weapons, President Tayyip Erdogan said following the group's decision to disband. "Talks are being held with our neighbouring countries on how the weapons of terrorists outside our borders will be handed over," Erdogan said, according to a transcript of remarks he made to journalists on his return flight from Albania overnight. "There are plans regarding how the Baghdad and Erbil administrations will take part in this process," he added. The PKK , which has been locked in bloody conflict with Türkiye for more than four decades, has decided to disband and end its armed struggle, group members and Turkish leaders said earlier this week on Monday.
Al Arabiya
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Turkey to set up mechanism for PKK weapons handover: Report
A coordinated mechanism for the handover of Kurdish militant group PKK weapons will be established following the group's decision to dissolve, Turkey's defense ministry said, according to state-owned Anadolu news agency. The ministry said relevant state institutions would coordinate with counterparts in regional countries to set up the mechanism, Anadolu reported. The PKK, which has been locked in bloody conflict with Turkey for more than four decades, has decided to disband and end its armed struggle, group members and Turkish leaders said on Monday. Also on Thursday, a Turkish defense ministry spokesman said in a briefing that Turkey's military will continue acting against PKK militants in regions where they are present until it is 'certain' the threat is removed following decision to disband. The military will 'continue to act in the regions used by the separatist PKK terrorist organization with determination until it is certain the region is cleared and will no longer pose a threat to Turkey,' a ministry spokesman said in a briefing. Blacklisted as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, the PKK operates rear bases in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, where Turkey also maintains military bases and often carries out air and ground operations against the Kurdish militants. The PKK is also present in Syria, where Turkey has military bases in the north and has since 2016 carried out several ground operations to force the militants away from its border.
