Taichi Kokubun of Tokio To Be Suspended for Compliance Violation
In this week's news
roundup
we report on Taichi Kokubun, who is expected to be fired by the group Tokio. Nippon Steel finally completes the acquisition of US Steel.
Shinjiro Koizumi
is now the people's choice to be the country's next prime minister. Foreign visitors continue to flock to Japan in record numbers.
Shohei Ohtani
makes his pitching return. And, on the same day, his former interpreter reports to federal prison in Pennsylvania.
List of Contents:
Taichi Kokubun To Be Fired by Tokio
Nippon Steel's Acquisition of US Steel Includes Trump Pact
Shinjiro Koizumi Tops Poll for Japan's Next Prime Minister
Japan sees record number of foreign visitors for May, But Hong Kong Figure Falls
Mixed Bag for Shohei Ohtani on Pitching Return
Ippei Mizuhara Reports to US Prison
Related Posts
Taichi Kokubun To Be Fired by Tokio
On Thursday,
Sankei Sports
reported that Taichi Kokubun, 50, keyboardist for the popular group Tokio, is set to be suspended. At the time of writing, the reason is unknown. Nippon Television, which broadcasts his regular program,
The Tetsuwan Dash
, is believed to be in the process of making arrangements to hold an emergency press conference on June 20 regarding a compliance violation. According to reports, Kokubun will be fired by Tokio Co., Ltd.
As well as playing music, he also serves as vice president for the company.
Formed by Johnny & Associates, Tokio debuted in 1994. The group consisted of five members: Shigeru Joshima, Masahiro Matsuoka, Tomoya Nagase, Taichi Kokubun and Tatsuya Yamaguchi. Hiromu Kojima left just before the band debuted. In 2018, Yamaguchi's contract was terminated after he was referred to prosecutors for allegedly kissing a girl against her will at his home. Two years later, Nagase announced that he was leaving the band to pursue his own endeavors.
Tokio Co., Ltd. was established in 2021.
Nippon Steel's Acquisition of US Steel Includes Trump Pact
On Wednesday night, Nippon Steel announced that it had completed the acquisition of US Steel. News of the transaction was confirmed a few days after United States President Donald Trump overturned the decision by his predecessor, Joe Biden, to block the deal on national security grounds. The two companies have subsequently entered into a National Security Agreement (NSA) with the US government, which gives the Trump administration the power to veto significant management decisions.
'We have secured the necessary management flexibility and profitability essential for business investment, and we recognize this agreement as fully satisfactory for our company,'
said
Nippon Steel
Chair
person
and CEO Eiji Hashimoto, at a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday. The acquisition is valued at $55 per share, or
$14.1 bill
ion
.
It's
the largest investment Nippon Steel has ever made. The company first announced a plan to buy out US Steel in December 2023.
Shinjiro Koizumi Tops Poll for Japan's Next Prime Minister
According to a joint opinion poll conducted by the
Sankei Shimbun
and FNN (Fuji News Network) on June 14 and 15, Shinjiro Koizumi is the people's choice to be Japan's next prime minister. The current Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister finished at the top of the poll with 20.7% of the vote, 4.3% ahead of the former Minister of State for Economic Security Sanae
Takaichi
. Prime Minister Shigeru
Ishiba
finished third with 7.9% of the vote.
It's been quite a turnaround for Koizumi, who finished third in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership race last September. Away from the spotlight for several months, he made his political return in May, with Ishiba appointing him as Agriculture Minister. Replacing Taku Eto, whose position became untenable after he said that he 'never had to buy rice' as he got it free from supporters, Koizumi's appointment has brought immediate results with the price of rice decreasing three weeks consecutively.
Japan Sees Another Record Number of Foreign Visitors for May
According to data released by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) on Wednesday, Japan welcomed 3,693,300 foreign visitors in May, a record high for the month and an increase of 21.5% from a year earlier. The cumulative number of visitors from abroad in the first five months of the year came to a record 18,140,100. That's significantly higher than the previous record of 14,641,780 for the same period that was set last year.
'The momentum is strong, and we're on a very good trajectory,'
said
JNTO Commissioner Naoya
Haraikawa
at Wednesday's press conference. The only region with a decrease in the number of tourists to Japan was Hong Kong. The figure dropped 11.2% to 193,100. This is believed to be due to rumors circulating on social media about
a possible earthquake
hitting
the country
.
It's
based on separate prophecies by Japanese manga artist
Ryo Tatsuki
and a famed local feng shui master.
Mixed Bag for Shohei Ohtani on Pitching Return
After almost two years away from the mound, Shohei Ohtani made his long-awaited pitching return on Monday evening to start the series opener against the Padres. Jogging out with Michael Bublé's 'Feeling Good' playing in the background, he received a huge ovation from the fans. His last MLB appearance on the mound was on August 22, 2023. That was against the Cincinnati Reds, when he retired due to arm fatigue after just 1.1 innings pitched.
The two-way superstar allowed back-to-back singles to Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis
Arráez
before Manny Machado hit a sacrifice fly to earn Tatis Jr. a run. Ohtani pitched for one inning, throwing 28 pitches, 16 for strikes. He fared better at the plate, tying the score with an RBI double to left-center in the third inning. He then added another two-out hit as the Dodgers took a 6-2 lead in the fourth. The 2024 World Series
champions
won the game 6-3.
Ippei Mizuhara Reports to US Prison
On the same day that Ohtani made his pitching debut for the Dodgers, his former interpreter reported to federal prison in Pennsylvania. In February, Ippei Mizuhara was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison for stealing close to $17 million from the Dodgers two-way global superstar to repay illegal gambling debts. He was also ordered to pay $18 million in restitution, with the majority going to Ohtani and $1.1 million to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Mizuhara is being held in a low-security prison in Allenwood. As he's not a US citizen, he's likely to be deported to Japan after completing his sentence. Between November 2021 and March 2024, the ex-interpreter misappropriated $16.59 million from one of Ohtani's accounts. He also stole baseball cards with the intention of reselling them and submitted a false tax return for 2022. Prosecutors claimed his motivation was 'greed' and 'not addiction.'
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Kyodo News
28 minutes ago
- Kyodo News
FOCUS: Nippon Steel buyout spat hints at business fragility in U.S.
By Junko Horiuchi, KYODO NEWS - 7 hours ago - 13:07 | Japan, All U.S. President Donald Trump's bid to attract investment threatens to undermine the appetite for corporate spending in an ironic twist, with the 18-month saga over Nippon Steel Corp.'s buyout of United States Steel Corp. showing the growing vulnerability of businesses in the U.S. market, according to analysts. The U.S. administration's earlier blocking of the $14.1 billion takeover deal was clearly driven by political motives and corporate executives will no longer be able to make decisions regarding their U.S. operations based only business criteria, they said. The wrangling in the high-profile case could lead global companies to think twice about making sizeable investments and acquisitions in the world's largest economy, with many moving to reduce their exposure to the U.S. market. "I do think many companies are pausing investments and major capital expenditures, not only because of the Nippon-U.S. Steel deal but due to general uncertainty surrounding political and economic dynamics in Washington," said Zack Cooper, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Trump had repeatedly rejected Nippon Steel's plan to take full control of U.S. Steel. But Nippon Steel, the world's fourth-largest steel producer, and U.S. Steel, the 29th largest, said Wednesday following Trump's approval of the buyout plan that they had signed a national security agreement with the U.S. government and finalized the acquisition transaction. Under the deal, the Japanese steelmaker is obliged to invest $11 billion by 2028 on bolstering the U.S. steelmaker's operations, far more than the previously planned $2.7 billion. The U.S. government also obtained a golden share allowing it to veto key management decisions, such as when reducing investment, shedding production capacity in the United States or closing plants. Nippon Steel CEO Eiji Hashimoto told a press conference on Thursday that his company had learned from a year and a half of negotiations with the U.S. government that a flexible management strategy is required. The top executive said it had been believed that governments should not get involved in business deals. "But are strengthening their involvement in economic and business matters through industrial policy," he said. Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, initially blocked the purchase of U.S. Steel on national security grounds, saying the manufacturing icon, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania -- a key battleground state in the 2024 presidential election -- should be "American-owned and American-operated." Trump also opposed the deal during the presidential race, saying the acquisition of a minority stake in U.S. Steel would not cause any issues, but foreign ownership of the company would not be good psychologically. He ordered a new review of the deal by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States in April with a deadline for Trump to make a final decision initially set for June 5. "Because predictability is insanely low right now in the United States, Japanese companies are going to cut back the percentage of their business in the country," said Keisuke Hanyuda, the chief executive of Owls Consulting Group. While rising costs must be dealt with, "The last thing a business wants is to lose predictability," said Hanyuda, a former Japanese trade ministry official in charge of trade talks. Nippon Steel is betting on firm demand for high-tensile strength steel in the U.S. market, capitalizing on its advanced production technology for high-end steel plates used in products such as electric vehicles. The United States is one of three growth markets for the Japanese steelmaker, compensating for shrinking domestic demand. Under Trump, the steel, aluminum, auto and semiconductor sectors have been targeted by specific tariffs driven by political pressures and companies in these industries should consider other markets for growth to hedge their risks, analysts say. Earlier this month, Trump signed an order doubling the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50 percent. "I think Japanese companies will have a difficult time purchasing famous American companies in sectors that President Trump prioritizes, such as autos, steel, aluminum, and chipmaking," Cooper at the American Enterprise Institute said, though investment in other sectors may still be viable. "But any Japanese company that is considering a major deal in the United States should develop a detailed political strategy before announcing a deal, lest they suffer similar roadblocks as Nippon Steel," he said. The United States remains a lucrative market with high growth potential but some global companies are beginning to reduce their reliance on it after the tariffs imposed by Trump, Hanyuda said. The European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, for example, have resumed economic partnership negotiations, while the EU is also looking at Japan, which is part of a trans-Pacific free trade pact that took effect in 2018 without the United States. Related coverage: U.S. Steel's strategic importance growing: Nippon Steel CEO Nippon Steel finalizes deal to make U.S. Steel wholly owned Trump effectively approves Nippon Steel's takeover of U.S. Steel
41 minutes ago
Japanese Pop Star Kokubun Halts Activities
Tokyo, June 20 (Jiji Press)--Taichi Kokubun, a member of Japanese male pop group Tokio, will halt his entertainment activities indefinitely, effective Friday, his management agency said. The agency said that it has found a compliance violation by the 50-year-old, but did not disclose details. Earlier Friday, Nippon Television Network Corp. said that it would remove Kokubun from its popular variety show "The Tetsuwan Dash." He makes regular appearances on five other programs on television and radio. The broadcaster said that it decided to take the celebrity off the show based on the results of an investigation conducted by external lawyers over the compliance issue, after it was informed of the matter on May 27. Hiroyuki Fukuda, president and chief operating officer at Nippon TV, told a press conference that multiple people were involved in the compliance issue, and expressed great disappointment. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
Kyodo News
an hour ago
- Kyodo News
Tokio pop group member removed from TV show over past misconduct
KYODO NEWS - 1 hour ago - 19:21 | All, Japan A member of Japanese all-male pop group Tokio has been removed from a popular TV program due to past conduct that breached compliance rules on multiple occasions, a TV network said Friday. Taichi Kokubun, 50, was removed from "The Tetsuwan Dash," a variety program aired by Nippon Television Network Corp. and fronted by the members of Tokio. Neither Kokubun, his company nor the TV network has elaborated on what the breaches entailed. The decision to remove Kokubun was approved at an extraordinary board meeting, based on findings from a third-party probe headed by lawyers. Kokubun has accepted the decision, the network said. In remarks to reporters, Hiroyuki Fukuda, the network's president, declined to elaborate further on the cases, citing a need to "protect privacy." He said it was not a criminal matter. According to Fukuda, the probe was established after the misconduct came to light in late May. "The Tetsuwan Dash" will continue broadcasting, the network said. Following the announcement, Kokubun said he is indefinitely suspending his activities in a release on the Tokio company website. In a statement of apology, he said that "my lack of awareness for the situation I am in, my naivety, my arrogance and my inappropriate behavior have caused everything." Kokubun debuted with the then five-member Tokio in 1994 and has an extensive career in television and radio. After the Fukushima nuclear crisis in 2011, he helped promote local farming produce by appearing in commercials. His removal from the Nippon Television program comes amid increased scrutiny of Japan's entertainment industry following recent revelations such as a sexual misconduct scandal that emerged at Fuji Television Network Inc. involving popular former TV host Masahiro Nakai. Tokio's former agency Johnny & Associates Inc. also renamed itself and a separate agency was established after hundreds of sexual abuse allegations against its late founder Johnny Kitagawa. Related coverage: Nakai sexually assaulted Fuji TV staff amid harassment culture: panel Ex-Tokio pop group member released after arrest for drunken driving
