From our other sites
The story
On October 1, talent agency STARTO ENTERTAINMENT announced it had terminated its contract, effective September 30, with timelesz member Shuto Inomata (25), who was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a woman he knew. Inomata was released on September 25, and it appears he admitted to the allegations and reached a settlement with the victim. On 5ch’s Geinou/Sports Breaking News+ board, users debated why a “newcomer” so soon after his debut was cut loose so quickly, questioning whether it was a move to protect the group, with many comparing it to how past celebrity scandals have been handled.
timelesz’s Shuto Inomata Contract Terminated — Agency Announces: “We Deeply and Sincerely Apologize” | FNN
Thursday, October 1, 2026, 9:06 AM
Regarding Shuto Inomata (25), a member of the popular idol group “timelesz” who was arrested on suspicion of punching a woman he knew in the face and injuring her, and who was released on September 25, talent agency STARTO ENTERTAINMENT announced on the morning of October 1 that it had terminated its contract with Inomata as of September 30.
Source: fnn.jp / Original article here
What people said
The outer moat's being filled in (idiom for 'he's being boxed in before the final blow')
Maybe after seeing the public's reaction to the apology, they decided not to keep him after all.
If doing your makeup nicely is enough to be forgiven, this world's way too easy lol
but he's not popular enough to make it as a solo act either.
??? "I'm not a rotten orange!" (iconic line from the Japanese teen drama 3-nen B-gumi Kinpachi Sensei)
If he'd been a popular member, they probably wouldn't have cut him.
Most non-fans only even heard of him because of the arrest.
Might be different if he'd come up through the Johnny's Jr. system,
but he's from a YouTube-audition idol group with no ties to Johnny's.
He committed an actual crime, so there was never any way around it.
Well, if he'd been a bit more famous, they might've let him off with just leaving the group.
but they actually cut him loose.
Yeah, that was never gonna happen.
There was a woman involved (bad look for an idol),
he hit her (bad look for society),
it happened in a car parked at a convenience store (lame),
and he played dumb, claiming his
"hand just brushed her" (zero remorse).
With all that, keeping him around was a dead end no matter what lol
and he probably won't even touch social media anymore,
he's done with the public stage for good.
In exchange, they'll probably cover his penalty fee.
There's probably hush money involved too.
so I figured there'd be no firing out of favoritism.
Even if that's true, I doubt in this day and age STARTO gets any benefit from being connected to Kōshō Inomata — if he were like a grandson, maybe, but being some distant relative isn't exactly a card you can play.
If you stabbed someone with a blade and
claimed "the tip just touched her,"
and that actually worked, Japan would be a lawless wasteland.
Inomata "admitted to the allegations and settled."
He himself admitted it wasn't just his hand brushing her.
Or did he ask to leave on his own?
That case didn't have a victim, though. That's a huge difference.
You don't see the difference between a guy who just exposed himself and a guy who hit a woman?
More suited for one of those 'become a host' reality shows.
Since it became a police matter, wouldn't a normal company end up with the same result too?
They really blew the whole concept.
If they were really family, you'd never abandon them in the end no matter how much you hated them deep down.
He's the one who betrayed the family that trusted him, though.
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
timelesz, the group Inomata belonged to, debuted through a YouTube audition project rather than the traditional Johnny’s Jr. pipeline, and this difference in background came up in the thread in the form of comments like “he never did his training.” The contract termination came after a settlement had already been reached, and the fact that the agency acted before any criminal proceedings were finalized is the kind of thing that invites comparison with how past celebrity scandals were handled. At the same time, details about the victim’s identity and her relationship to Inomata have not been reported, so it’s worth noting that much of the speculation in the thread isn’t confirmed fact.
※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Breaking News+) thread “timelesz’s Shuto Inomata Contract Terminated — Agency Announces: “We Deeply and Sincerely Apologize” | FNN.”
Leave a Reply