On October 2, TV Tokyo announced at its regular president’s press conference that the station’s cooking program “Danshigohan,” in which former TOKIO member Taichi Kokubun (51) is a regular, will end its broadcast. Kokubu is on indefinite hiatus, but this marks the end of all regular programs he appeared on before his hiatus. The reason for Kokubu ‘s suspension was the multiple acts of noncompliance announced by NTV in June. After receiving reports from within the company, an investigation uncovered the problems, and although the specifics were not disclosed, Kokubu was dropped from regular programs at the station, and TOKIO was subsequently disbanded. In late July, with the Kokubu issue still fresh in the minds of many, another “big-name talent A” was being investigated. Starting with “NEWS POST SEVEN” in late July, several media outlets conducted a survey on a certain major TV personality “A” at a private key station, asking questions such as, “Have you ever seen harassment behavior toward employees, staff, or other related parties? The report said that a survey was being conducted on a certain employee of a major TV personality, A, asking questions such as, “Have you ever seen any harassment of employees, staff, or other related parties? Following the December 2012 report of sexual trouble by Masahiro Nakai (53) against a former female announcer at Fuji Television, not only Fuji Television, but also other stations conducted surveys of their own employees and outside staff. The allegations of harassment against “big-name TV personality A” were reported frequently from late July to early August, but there have been no “follow-up” reports since then. An official at a commercial key station who was conducting the investigation said, “A major TV personality ‘A’ has been accused of harassment. As reported by various companies, a background investigation was conducted in July after the name of a “big-name talent A” was raised for power harassment. Questionnaires and interviews were conducted with some of the people involved, but they were not shared at the field level. Nevertheless, word spread that the survey had been conducted, and at one point there were even rumors that he would be dropped from all programs. However, “Big Talent A” has continued to appear on TV, including regular programs, since July. However, “Big Talent A” has continued to appear on TV, including regular programs, since July. To begin with, ‘big-name TV personality A’ has always been known as a mischievous type, and although he does not engage in sexual harassment, many people would not be surprised if he was called a power harasser in the sense of 2025. So, although he may not have been aware of it, I believe that the report of power harassment was raised. However, TV stations are also sensitive to compliance violations due to the series of disturbances, so they quickly investigated, but in the end, they could not confirm any malicious cases with that much conviction. In the case of Mr. Kokubun, it was a one-shot violation, but in the case of “big-name celebrity A,” I think it was judged not to be that bad. He has changed his attitude, and it is expected to be settled.
