NGT48 Assault Case

I have no idea how NGT can survive this with the lack of information and clarity and seeming collateral damage (if we didn't get the true culprits).

The only way NGT can survive I think, is if fans learn to stop caring about this and about the unanswered questions and something tells me that is unlikely to happen and deep down I feel that it shouldn't happen either..

 

isn't everyone siding with rika in this circumstance?

 

yes, but more people in the showbiz express this the more likely bunshun would realize it's better for them to shut up for this once.

 

There seems to be plenty of outrage within Japan about Maho having to apologize so perhaps there is somewhat of a societal shift already underway there.

The problem with the Guardian is it brings it's own far-left stance to the story. Also it seems to peddle the idea that these were obsessive fans of Maho rather than a gang of idol stalkers in relationships with some of the idols.

 

Yeah no the guardian wrote their own version of the story, I might write them a complaint but I doubt it'll help.

 

You can always tell how bad some media is when they write a story about something you actually know about. That Guardian article is a prime example.

 

The irony of that guardian article quoting a tweet that warns how western media would easily dismiss the incident as "wacky japan idol drama" then proceeds to do exactly that in the same article...

Of course they just have to mention RKJ and Miichan's incident even though the RKJ issue is probably the least important aspect in this case. What about a discussion on power abuse, management cover-up/inaction and disregard of personal safety?

 

Is there anyone who's siding against her at this point? Because all that I'm seeing is only Gatanee and Ayakani being under fire and heavy scrutiny. More to the point, how about siding with Maho if you actually feel the urge to take any action at all?
Funny how they blame ~the Internet~ for supposedly accusing Nakai Rika, when it was only Bunshun that brought her up as a diversion for the first time ever in their very personal version of the story, and "the Internet" rejected these claims outright anyway, since by that point Bunshun's involvement in the stalker group had come to light and a look at member's involvement pointed at totally different directions.
Hell, even Bunshun magically forgot about Nakai's supposed involvement in their "new and revised" version of the story they published the other day.
Some comedians who don't have the full grasp of the situation should stick to doing comedy and nothing else (same goes for Downtown's Matsumoto).

 

Well we only know for sure of one event but there are rumours of other NGT idols being intimidated, female NGT fans being intimidated and possibly a female NGT manager being assaulted/intimidated.

and it's "funny" how gatanee, tano and ogiyuko seem to not have expressed the slightest bit of sympathy for Maho in the communications they have made.

Bunshun are in full cover-up mode because they are implicated with Inapooh and his gang.

Also "funny" how the two attackers were publicly banned from RH but no word of Inapooh or "Kaisei", almost as if they had money or connections to protect them.

 

I thought they banned kasei actually. They banned 3 men from the theatre.

 

+ occasionally Noe

As for Naikai. Back before Maho made the attack public one of the internet theories on why she was MIA and not attending 48g Kouhaku was that Maho got into an argument with Rika while at work. Instead of then doing the wise thing and grounding both, Rikas agency intervened and only Maho was punished.
I'd imagine that this story served as an early theory which member might be the one Maho mentioned in her tweets.

 

They aren't allowed to talk about it. Aside from some likes and unfollows by Riko, none of the Team G members have expressed sympathy either, at least not since the story broke.

 

They were allowed to post denials of their involvement though.

Although given that everyone thinks management wrote those posts then the lack of sympathy for Maho makes sense. Thanks for reminding me.

 

I think at the very least they edited them. This would explain the bizarre similarities in punctuation despite those members not using that much before (or after). Or I guess it could also be a case of proper writing style as for a school essay vs. casual writing style for tweets and blogs. But for sure any narrative that went against management's would have been removed.

 

Yep, that makes sense.

Wouldn't you think though that someone would have added "I hope Maho is ok" or something, even from a PR point of view, it just looks super cold. Or do they think anything like that would be tantamount to an admission of guilt?

 

Well, these were posted when Imamura was still in charge, and he was convinced she was sick in the head...

 

Different countries have different criminal laws and criminal procedure laws. The law of my country following Germanic Law system is much more similar to that of Japan than the law of Common Law system used in your country. Law codes (Criminal Code, Civil Code, Criminal Procedure Code and Civil Code) of my country were initially adapted from Japanese ones roughly a century ago.

1. I don't know what is "awarding compensation" but, if there is some rare cases where the fine is allotted to the victim, it is not deemed "compensation". Neither penalty compensation exists in Japan.
From what I've googled up, a crime victim in Japan can receive compensation in 3 ways
1.1 Criminal verdict. In the case of the crime on property such as vandalism, embezzlement or theft, the prosecutor (aka state attorney) will ask for the compensation of the lost property from the culprit on the behalf of the victim. (Definitely not apply to this case.)
1.2 Welfare compensation from the state. For some kinds of damages arise from crime, the victim may request compensation to the police. If I understand correctly, this compensation is flat rate. This is the effect of the fairly new "victim compensation law" and not criminal procedure law.
1.3 Civil case. If the compensation 1.1 and 1.2 do not cover the cost of actual damage, the victim may file a civil case against the culprit.

2. No, the police officer can charge but cannot prosecute. When a person becomes "alleged offender" he has been charged and, the investigation, the arrest, the seize, the warrant etc, can't be done without alleged offender. The penalty of a criminal case may be performed without prosecution such as, the police officer charges me of speeding and fines me. Violating traffic law is a crime and the fine is the penalty. You must aware that the translation may be done by a person clueless of law and the term used can be mistaken.

3. "I think I know", yeah, that sounds much more reliable than Wikkie.

It was clear that at least 1 member involved with the crime but it was unclear what was her connection to the crime.
1) If she actually let her bf visited her room any time, that action surely deserved a disciplinary penalty (I would fire such member if I were Imamura) but definitely was not a crime. (However, there was a speculation the offender might not come out from Tano's room nor Nishigata's room.)
2) There has been zero evidence the culprit told the police any member collaborated in the crime. The offenders were charged but released.

You deserved all dislikes as there has been no slightliest proof that Kato was a bully. The accusation based on the mere fact that Kato, Tano and Nishigata were close friends, totally "guilty by association" assumption. Neither there was any concrete proof that Tano and Nishigata were bullies. You accuse a person because of a weak speculation.

T-ARA case went complicated too with Hwayoung's father rumored to relate to a politician thus, the agency's chairman kept silent about her shitty behaviors. Also, the crazy chairman contributed a lot to the tension between Hwayoung and original members. And, there was poor Ahreum who had to leave entertainment industry due to mental disorder.

Of course, intention is needed in assault case but may be not to the level of physical harm.

(Assault)
Article 208　When a person assaults another without injuring the other person, the person shall be punished by imprisonment with work for not more than 2 years, a fine of not more than 300,000 yen, misdemeanor imprisonment without work or a petty fine.

I assume physical harm equates to injury and to slap a bitch 1-2 time is deemed an assault. She said they grasped her face tightly and pinned her down. If there was a slightliest bruise on her face and there were witnesses that she was pinned down, they can be filed of assault. However, as quoted above, this is a simply a misdemeanor.

I can't take Rika's bully comment seriously as her character is "overbearing" to say the least. I can't blame other members if they can't bear her.

No. It's you who missed the point. The discussion was the possibility of the culprit's intention, whether their vileness deserved the witch hunt.

For example, A car hit a motorbike while it was moving downhill and sent 2 persons on the motorbike down the cliff to death. To argue if the driver was deliberate or negligent is in no way downplay the grievance resulting from the crime.

Akimoto has been trying to expand the franchise internationally by not involving with the establishment of newer foreign groups at all? Sounds legit.

Because they were thugs?

There was legal limit.

No, it is not clear. Because only they spoke out they had been interrogated and got their phones seized doesn't mean there was no one else. Also, they might be summoned as witnesses.

No, you don't the truth. You just want confirmation everyone already formed their conclusion and anything diverts from that is a lie.

In T-ARA case, within few days after the bully scandal blasted, the agency announced the rumored scandal was false and, Hwayoung herself said she was not bullied. A back dancer said Hwayoung was a bitch. Fans came up with lengthy defensive essays. All these were disregarded and labeled as either lies or delusion just to be brought back as facts few years later.

And, after the table turned, Hwayoung got exposed, she became the new target of witch hunt when all suffering original members faced did not directly come from her but the witch hunting public. She never accused other members of bullying and had already denied once. You may say her refuse was not strong enough but you can't expect her to say "Nah. They aren't wrong. It's all because I'm a bitch." Also, the other new member who had been supportive to original members said that to be added into an already famous group whose members had formed a strong clique was very stressful, she could survive the stress only because she and Hwayoung leant on each other. Definitely, Hwayoung was not a completely heartless bitch.

 

Maybe they were stuck between a rock and a hard place with this. Everyone that wouldn't write "hope Maho is ok" would immediatly look suspicious. Contrary, if everyone writes it it would fuel the aversion the accused members receive.

 

Spoiler: Putting in in spoiler tags because even though it has everything to do with Maho's case, it's still a bit OT

Why will it help no one? Besides the apologizing matter, there is a darker side to the idol industry that should be brought to light and some of it falls on a par with the MeToo movement. Do I think this kind of issue should be included within the MeToo movement? Not necessarily. But I do feel some parts should be addressed. We can say that Japanese culture isn't going to change, and that addressing it can change the idol world (destroying is bit of a hyperbole if you ask me), but why should these things stop us? Saying this already means that there are faults within Japanese society and within the whole idol industry. This something that needs to be addressed. If Maho's case is the catalyst for this then I am all for it.

This all might sound a bit hypocritical because I do enjoy following idols, listening to their music, and watching their variety shows, but from a female western point of view I see a lot wrong with it. We can keep saying that it's a different culture and that it has nothing to do with gender equality, but it has everything to do with it. You would never see an idol culture like in Japan within countries that have better gender equality because you know shit will go down. There is a reason for that. People within Japan grow up in this society, being bombarded with idol images is normal to them and women will internalize that. These 13 year old girls on stage think it's normal for 35-50 year olds to follow their every whim and attend every show. It isn't. There is a pedophilic side to the industry that I can not ignore and it's one of the things that should be able to be discussed. There is a whole side to idol culture that is rather creepy, and there are fans who take things to far. Think this is one of a handful of cases? Other cases might not be as severe but this is the tip of the iceberg.
I say lets open this can of worms so future idol will feel more save and aren't treated as mere fantasies and entertainment for male pleasure. Someone linked the documentary Tokyo Idols here the other day and I've been thinking about it for the past several days. There is this one quote that goes like: ''This country does everything to protect the male fantasy'' and that is mostly what the idol industry entails. Guess protecting the idol world and the male fantasy is more important than actually protecting these idols. I'm sure not much will change after this case, the chance is incredibly small. But I am sure that in the matter of years the snowball will start rolling and turn into an even bigger snowball, it's bound to happen eventually and I personally can not wait for that day to come.

Probably shooting myself in the foot with this because this is an idol forum after all and a lot of people will disagree. Just wanted to express my opinion. /

 

^The all men are scum argument eh.

You do realize that 90% of the fans trying to protect Maho or track down the stalkers are men right?