A MEMBER of the popular Japanese male pop group Tokio has said sorry for forcibly kissing a teenage girl at his home.
Tatsuya Yamaguchi, 46, said he would suspend work with the band and other entertainment projects.
He acknowledged at a news conference that he kissed the girl at his home in February when he was drunk.
The girl, who was with her friend, fled and reported it to police, prompting an investigation.
“I’m so sorry that I caused her to suffer,” Yamaguchi said. “As a minor, she must have been frightened by an adult male.”
Yamaguchi has not been charged and his agent, Johnny & Associates, said in a statement that the two sides have reached a settlement.
Public broadcaster NHK said prosecutors are likely to drop the case after the girl’s side retracted their complaint.
The case is the latest in a series involving sexual misconduct that have rocked Japan, where awareness and support for victims and the #MeToo movement have been slow to grow.
Yamaguchi said he was not aware of what he had done to the girl until he was contacted by police more than a month later.
He said he fell asleep after talking to the girls for about an hour and they were gone by the time he had woken up.
Yamaguchi and other members of the group are “special ambassadors” on an Olympic and Paralympic Flag Tour project promoting the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The organising committee and the Tokyo government are co-sponsors.
“Given Mr Yamaguchi’s significance to us as a special ambassador to the Flag Tour, it is very disappointing for Tokyo 2020,” the organisers said.
They said they will discuss how to respond to the situation.
“It’s extremely regrettable. That’s all I can say,” Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike said.
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