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The story
Gentosha editor Kosuke Minowa posted on X on September 7, 2026, saying “I’m the one who gave Tomomi Itano permission to film in the Ritz-Carlton’s communal bath,” apologizing to both the Ritz-Carlton and Itano. The remark came after a video of former AKB48 member Itano filming the bathhouse changing area drew criticism online, and Minowa simultaneously argued that “society keeps getting more suffocating.” Minowa has form here: in June 2025 he claimed “I gave it to her” amid suspicions that Shoko Nakagawa had bought a scalped Switch 2, only to later retract the statement and apologize. On 5ch, users questioned both the timing and style of his latest comment, with reactions split between support and criticism.
Gentosha editor Kosuke Minowa updated his official X (formerly Twitter) account by the 8th, sharing his views on the controversy surrounding former AKB48 member and talent Tomomi Itano, who filmed a video in a hotel bathhouse changing room, sparking criticism online.
Minowa first posted on the 7th: “I’m the one who gave Tomomi Itano permission to film in the Ritz-Carlton’s communal bath. I’ve caused tremendous trouble for both the Ritz-Carlton and Itano. I am truly sorry.”
This isn’t the first time Minowa has done this: last June, when talent Shoko Nakagawa posted an unboxing video of the “Switch 2” and suspicion spread that she had bought it from a scalper, he declared on YouTube, “I’m the one who gave it to her.” He later walked the statement back, saying, “Thinking about it now, it wasn’t actually Ms. Nakagawa,” and apologized.
Source: ggtnews.net / Original article here
What people said
They even banned smoking on the streets lol
Also, Japan is the only developed country that banned street smoking without banning street drinking 🤣
What about Malaysia?
Exactly this. At first it was all about lung cancer and secondhand smoke, but lung cancer cases haven't dropped one bit, and now that it's vapes they just harp on the smell instead. That whole thing lowered the bar for dumping intolerance on other people.
Does he actually think this makes him look good?
Well, he's someone Toru Kenjo (Gentosha's president) took a liking to, so…
Whether you go viral for the wrong reasons or not, you've got no choice but to keep posting
For regular people, a social media firestorm has zero effect on real life.
Even worse than Horiemon's contrarian schtick.
I'm the one who made Minowa write this comment
AND HERE HE COMES TOO ━━━━(ﾟ∀ﾟ)━━━━!!
That's the biggest cause of it anyway.
Reeks of genuine crazy.
I think he's part of Nishino's crowd (Akihiro Nishino of comedy duo King Kong).
Such a suffocating world now.
Cell phones only started becoming common 25 years ago, and smartphones caught on around 2010. That's not the Showa era.
But is this one of those?
Though really, only the people who sent abuse are in the wrong.
If Itano lawyers up and apologizes, this all gets resolved and her likability even goes up.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
Minowa is known as a Gentosha editor, and he has also built a name for himself through his friendship with Takafumi Horie and his online membership community. He has form here: he previously claimed “I’m the one who gave it to her” over the Nakagawa Switch 2 scalping suspicion, only to later retract it, saying “it wasn’t actually Ms. Nakagawa,” and apologize. His latest statement — “I’m the one who gave filming permission” — was read as a repeat of the same pattern: stepping into the line of fire himself to try to smooth things over. The Itano controversy has drawn criticism specifically because she filmed in a hotel bathhouse changing room, a space used by an unspecified number of other guests; the fact that the apology extended to the Ritz-Carlton as well as Itano herself suggests the incident also threatened the hotel’s reputation. On the thread, opinion split over Minowa’s claim that “society keeps getting more suffocating” — some pushed back, arguing he shouldn’t reframe criticism of a simple breach of manners as an issue of “suffocation,” while others expressed some sympathy for the idea, citing things like street-smoking bans as examples of growing social intolerance.
*This article is composed of excerpts and a summary from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Livestream+) thread “Kosuke Minowa comments on Tomomi Itano’s “bathhouse filming controversy”: “I’m the one who gave filming permission” — his take on the online “anger”: “Society keeps getting more suffocating”.”
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