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The story
The digital edition of Weekly Bunshun reported on September 2 that Taito Murakami, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks’ first-round pick in the 2024 draft, allegedly broke into a former girlfriend’s apartment using a spare key and threatened to kill her. The woman has filed a police report, and another former girlfriend has reportedly come forward with similar accusations. The timing of the report — landing right after Murakami’s first-ever appearance in an official first-team game — drew extra attention. On 5ch’s Geinou/Sports Breaking News+ board, users pointed out that SoftBank’s first-round draft picks keep running into trouble with either their conduct or their playing time, and comparisons to past scandals at other teams became a hot topic.
After their relationship ended, a man broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home using a spare key and went on a rampage. He punched her friend, choked her, and threatened, “I’ll kill you.” The ex-girlfriend has filed a police report…
Early afternoon on July 4, the sound of someone unlocking the apartment door suddenly rang out. “Huh?” The woman who lived there turned toward the entryway in surprise, and a man’s voice she knew all too well echoed through the room.
“Who’s there? Who the hell is here?!”
Source: bunshun.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
that guy's still a pro soccer player, you know.
The Yokohama District Court has sentenced Sho Kamimura (27), a former J2 Mito HollyhockZ player from Sagamihara's Minami Ward, to 30 years in prison on charges including rape resulting in injury against eight women. That's the maximum allowed for a fixed-term sentence. He broke into apartments by scaling exterior walls and threatened his victims with a knife.
Seriously, Riko's sentence is way too light.
Did they just sit on this story for over ten years waiting for the perfect moment to drop it?
What's the Japan Series outcome gonna look like after this?!
https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/rkb/1667352?display=1
A legal seminar was held for new Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks recruits, where a lawyer briefed them on social media pitfalls and other precautions.
i.imgur.com/vk1UqKj.jpeg
i.imgur.com/c0SNpMX.jpeg
i.imgur.com/Oom3fxo.jpeg
Guess social media's off the table! I'll just tell her in person instead!
This was a problem way before it got to that point, lol
This one, obviously.
I mean, this is the kind of thing where an arrest could come down any day now lol
And it sounds like a police report's actually been filed too.
Yamashita, who got picked up by the Chunichi Dragons and then caused trouble after retiring, was also a SoftBank first-rounder.
Baseball = violence
Soccer = sex crimes
Guess we've got our lanes sorted now
Personally, I find soccer creepier
Baseball's got every kind of crime covered, sex crimes included lol
'Yaki-buta' (a derogatory nickname rival fans use for baseball fans) is always spinning it like this, but it's not working anymore.
Giants' Sakamoto: "Ain't that the truth."
It's a tradition that goes all the way back to Kazumi Saito.
FRIDAY's not even playing in the same league lolol
So a police report's actually been filed for this one?
That's the gap between Bunshun and FRIDAY right there.
2016 Masayoshi Tanaka — Traded to the Fighters in 2023
2017 Haruto Yoshizumi — Retired
2018 Hisashi Kaino — Traded to the Lions in 2024
2019 Naoki Sato — Police involvement over assaulting his fiancée → now with Rakuten via this year's draft
2020 Tomoya Inoue — Traded to Yokohama in 2026
2021 Kyuda Kazama — Effectively pushed out over misconduct
2022 Ihine — Buried on the farm team
2023 Yugo Maeda — 11 wins, 0 losses this season. The next ace
2024 Taito Murakami — Assault/abortion scandal
2025 Rintaro Sasaki — Refused to sign
Wait, is this actually a worse draft track record than the Chunichi Dragons'?
Classic Bunshun.
An article's not worth much if the guy hasn't even played yet.
Yamakawa came back after nearly a year off and even won a batting title, but he still didn't get the Comeback Player award, did he?
Exactly.
Same as saying "rugby is a gentleman's sport."
If people were actually behaving like gentlemen, nobody would need to say it out loud.
Same with bushido or chivalry — reality was awful, so people just spelled out an ideal of "how things ought to be."
If it were really a world full of gentlemen, nobody would bother saying it in the first place.
They'll probably just market him as a duo with Yamakawa instead, right?
What an idiot.
Such a waste.
An injury-prone pick from the 'Toilet' team (a derisive nickname fans use for the club) was never going to top Ihara anyway.
What do you expect from a 'Toilet' first-rounder.
Huh?? (´⊙ω⊙`)
That looks nothing like his player guide photo.
Background and Key Points of This Story
The Bunshun report concerns trouble stemming from a relationship, and the details could still shift depending on how police proceedings unfold and what explanation Murakami himself gives. What drew the most attention on the thread was the pattern of SoftBank first-round picks struggling with either conduct or playing time — with users listing pitcher Naoki Sato (an assault case involving his fiancée) and pitcher Kyuda Kazama (misconduct) among others, alongside remarks about the unfortunate timing right after Murakami’s first-team debut. That said, this list was compiled by posters on 5ch, not something the club has officially verified or released, so it should be read with that caveat in mind. Comparisons were also drawn to Seibu’s Hotaka Yamakawa and his past troubles, but since the two cases differ in nature and in where they stand with investigators and their respective clubs, a simple comparison should be treated with caution.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Breaking News+) thread “[Bunshun] SoftBank first-round pick Taito Murakami hit with assault/abortion scandal (Threatened “I’ll ●ill you” with a knife, two former girlfriends come forward one after another) [Ailuropoda melanoleuca★].”
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