Taichi Kokubun (51) of the disbanded group TOKIO held a press conference in Tokyo on March 26. It was his first appearance since the riot. At 1:56 p.m., Kokubu and his attorney, Masaru Komoda, took their seats. Wearing glasses, he first listened to Mr. Komoda’s explanation with a mysterious look on his face. He said, “We consider it difficult to discuss this with NTV, but I would like to take this opportunity to express our apologies and our feelings. There is no penalty for the sponsors.” At 2:07, Kokubu finally opened his mouth. I, Taichi Kokubun, would like to thank you for giving me this opportunity today. First of all, I would like to sincerely apologize to all the people I have hurt. I am truly sorry. I would also like to thank Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV), with whom I have worked for so many years, for the opportunity to be a part of “The! DASH! I am truly sorry that I could not express my apology in my own words,” he continued to his fans, before taking a seat and expressing his feelings. I have been spending my days in a state of frustration. It is solely my own fault. I think I was resting on my laurels in my environment. I cannot repent even if I regret it.” He then looked back on the abrupt resignation from the board, the suspension of activities, the dissolution of TOKIO, and the closure of TOKIO Inc. that was handed down in June. “I lost everything in a few days and my heart could not keep up,” he said, his eyes turning red and tears welling up in his eyes afterward. He then asserted that he wanted to “answer with NTV,” and reiterated that on October 23, Kokubu had filed a human rights complaint with the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (Nichibenrenren), claiming that NTV had acted flawedly in removing him from the variety show due to “problematic compliance behavior. He added, “My whole life has been TOKIO. Even though the group is no more, that feeling will never change,” he said! DASH! DASH!” which he had appeared in for 30 years, he then revealed his feelings for his family. DASH!” He then shared his feelings for his family. When the Q&A session began, Mr. Komoda brushed off the issue that Kokubu had caused, saying, “I have an appointment with NTV, so I can’t answer your questions. On the other hand, Kokubu himself explained the situation in which he was told that he was to leave the program. I was quite upset because it was a sudden hearing. However, I thought it was necessary to preserve the situation, so I recorded it on my phone, but I was told to delete it on the spot, which I did. Instead, I was given a notebook and pen, but I was too upset and nervous to write it down. And after that, I was told by the executive director that I would be dropped from the program.” When asked if he would seek to have the punishment for dropping the program rescinded, he replied, “I haven’t been able to answer the question yet. However, since he was told of his demotion after answering his own questions, some reporters pointed out that they might be able to guess the reason for his demotion. Kokubu did not respond to this question, and Mr. Komoda explained, “We need to match up the details of what the problem was on that point. On June 20, NTV held a press conference on the station’s “The! DASH! (Sundays at 7 p.m.). At the press conference, President Hiroyuki Fukuda stated that “there have been multiple compliance issues in the past,” but added, “From the standpoint of privacy protection, we cannot explain the details. Following this announcement, Kokubu announced an indefinite suspension of his activities, and TOKIO was subsequently disbanded. However, no explanation of “what Kokubu did” was given from any source.
ENCOUNT Editorial Department