It was 10:00 a.m. on a weekday in early December. I spotted former TOKIO leader Shigeru Jojima riding an electric bicycle equipped with a child seat through a residential area in Tokyo. Dressed in a black down jacket and with his glasses dangling from his chest, Jojima pedaled steadily toward his destination. His face is covered by a mask, but his features are dark and his eyes look somewhat vacant. …… [Own photo] Shigeru Jojima responded by slowing down the speed of his mama bicycle. “I don’t think he is at peace with the noncompliance scandal caused by Mr. Taichi Kokubun. We have managed to continue TOKIO through the scandals of Tatsuya Yamaguchi and the departure of Tomoya Nagase, but it was finally disbanded. TOKIO Inc., of which Mr. Jojima is the representative director, is also scheduled to close down. As the leader of a group that was popular with the public, he must be feeling a great deal of responsibility.” (TV station insider, same as below) On June 20, Kokubu was suspended by NTV for “The! DASH! DASH!” and announced an indefinite suspension of his entertainment activities. On November 26, Kokubu held a press conference and appealed to NTV to “answer the questions” about his compliance violations, but NTV refused. Regarding the series of disturbances, TOKIO’s “publicist,” Masahiro Matsuoka, has continued to communicate his thoughts on the matter. “Immediately after TOKIO’s dissolution, Matsuoka answered questions from the press gathered at his workplace. He emphasized the strong ties between him and Kokubun, saying, “Our relationship is unbreakable. After Kokubu’s press conference, he was interviewed by some of the weekly magazines and complained, “Isn’t NTV’s way of doing things a violation of compliance?
The former TOKIO leader opened his mouth.
Matsuoka quit the former Johnny’s Office, now STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, to which he had belonged since 1989, at the end of November and set up his own private office. In contrast, Jojima has maintained a wait-and-see attitude and has not revealed what is on his mind. He has always had a mild-mannered personality with little self-assertiveness. The only thing he said was that he would work with Matsuoka in the future, along with apologizing for the series of disturbances and the group’s dissolution, on his regular radio show on July 10. What do you think as the former leader of the group?