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The story
Comedian Kazutoyo Koyabu commented on October 2 on a Kansai TV program about Shuto Inomata of “timelesz,” who was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an acquaintance and had his contract terminated by his agency, STARTO ENTERTAINMENT. The day before, timelesz members including Fuma Kikuchi had held a press conference to apologize. Responding to criticism that Inomata joined the group without going through the typical “Johnny’s Jr.” apprenticeship, Koyabu offered his own take: “Does going through the Jr. system make someone a well-behaved person?” On 5ch forums, opinions split over whether a lack of that apprenticeship experience has any real connection to a person’s conduct, with many users countering by pointing to past scandals involving Jr. graduates.
10/2 (Fri) 16:45
Comedian Kazutoyo Koyabu appeared on Kansai TV’s “Shunkan LIVE Toretate!” on the 2nd, commenting on the news that Shuto Inomata of “timelesz” — arrested and later released on suspicion of assaulting an acquaintance — had his contract terminated by his agency, STARTO ENTERTAINMENT.
timelesz members including Fuma Kikuchi held a press conference in Tokyo on the 1st following Inomata’s contract termination. Speaking on the group’s behalf, Kikuchi apologized: “We deeply apologize for the enormous worry and inconvenience this has caused everyone who has supported our activities.”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
As a person, he's lived his life like any regular guy, so it's irrelevant. If we were talking about skill level or industry rules, I'd get the point, but…
Did Nakai-san go through it?
Sounds like the type of guy who'd trash sushi-chef trade schools too.
If anything, that's the overwhelming majority.
What he means is: "It really drove home how much it matters to fans whether someone went through the Jr. system or not."
But the group led by the guy who busted a woman's eyeball is the one steering the agency right now.
At the very least, he'd know what it means to be a celebrity, lol.
The BBC's former host is way worse.
Kansai TV's "Shunkan LIVE Toretate!" ← no idea
"timelesz" released ← no idea
Shuto Inomata ← no idea
his agency STARTO ENTERTAINMENT ← no idea
What kind of news story throws this many terms I don't recognize at me? Then again, 80% of teens and 20-somethings probably just know all this as a given.
Do you enjoy putting your own ignorance on display?
Nah, I actually meant it the opposite way — for an old-timer like me, knowing all this stuff would be the embarrassing part. But you know it all? Cute.
Not knowing Johnny's changed its name is, frankly, just ignorant.
I'm an old guy myself, but old guys who proudly flaunt not knowing things are, across the board, boring — I'd hate for young people to aspire to that.
None of those guys got arrested, though.
You can tell what kind of person someone is during their Jr. years, right? And they still chose to let him debut after seeing that. There are way more guys who just got older without ever debuting, aren't there? That's exactly why they set an age limit — so people wouldn't be given false hope.
The "retirement at 22" rule was abolished.
Background and Key Points of This Debate
STARTO ENTERTAINMENT changed its name from the former Johnny’s Office after the 2023 official recognition of sexual abuse committed by founder Johnny Kitagawa against Jrs. under his management. Because of that history, “whether someone went through the Jr. system” tends to be discussed not merely as a matter of apprenticeship length, but as something tied to the agency’s troubled past. On the thread, opinions were split over whether apprenticeship experience actually affects a person’s conduct, with many commenters pushing back by citing past scandals involving Jr. graduates. Meanwhile, neither the details of the allegations against Inomata himself nor how timelesz will continue its activities going forward reached any clear consensus within the thread.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “Kazutoyo Koyabu shares his view on criticism of Shuto Inomata’s lack of Jr. experience: “Does going through the Jr. system make you a well-behaved person?”“.
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