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Tokyo Tower Cancelled?

Posted: Jul 21st, '06, 13:45
by nikochanr3
Due to Yamamoto's actions (the fat guy from Mecha-ike and Koji Kato's partner) of going drinking (and presumably sleeping with) and underage girl, he was fired from his agency. He has a prominent part on Tokyo Tower, and it will not be shown, and the general feeling is it will be totally reshot and shown in a later drama season.

Just what i heard.....

Posted: Jul 21st, '06, 13:53
by Zan
Pour Kato, seing his tears I was criyng too ç__ç
Japanese society is very strict O.o''

Posted: Jul 21st, '06, 16:35
by expo1970
although the details aren't very clear, yamamoto either raped the girl or did something pretty close to it. whether or not he was framed by the girl or not, he's a repeater offense and he has to take responsibility for his actions as a celebrity seen by people all over japan, including children. i think celebrities in other countries would be in just as much trouble if they did something like this.

Posted: Jul 21st, '06, 16:38
by nikochanr3
expo1970 wrote:although the details aren't very clear, yamamoto either raped the girl or did something pretty close to it. whether or not he was framed by the girl or not, he's a repeater offense and he has to take responsibility for his actions as a celebrity seen by people all over japan, including children. i think celebrities in other countries would be in just as much trouble if they did something like this.
Rape is a strong word....its coming out more it seems like it was consentuatl. Im not defending him....i support his firing. im just saying RAPE is a strong strong word...

Posted: Jul 21st, '06, 18:50
by groink
There are two things I see here, one of which I have a major issue with:

First, I think Japan is perfectly fine regarding scandals. In the U.S., it takes an act of congress to get someone kicked off a TV show because of a scandal. So I'm totally behind the geinokai for stopping the production of this series and totally write Yamamoto out of it.

But the second thing is what I have a problem with - the agency fired Yamamoto. I've mentioned this in earlier topics - where, leaving out the Yamamoto situation, I don't think it is right for the geinokai to allow agencies to raise artists like cattle. Rather, I believe the agency should be hired by the artist, and represent the artist when seeking jobs in the geinokai. Using this scenario, the TV network should have been the one to decide whether or not to keep Yamamoto on the show. But because the contract is between the agency and the TV network, the TV network has absolutely no say in how jishuku is applied to Yamamoto. And, by contract, the agency is responsible for filling in the vacancy. The TV network had absolutely no say in the matter, which I think is wrong. So they're forced to stop production as a result of the agency's actions.

So instead, with the way the system works in Japan, Yamamoto has NO job because he cannot get a job on his own in the geinokai without representation. And what agency would take him on now? I would rather have seen the TV network fire Yamamoto directly on their own terms, and have him practice jishuku on his own terms. And then if he is sent to jail (which more likely he will), then the agency can let him go.

That's just my opinion...

--- groink

Posted: Jul 21st, '06, 18:58
by nikochanr3
Groink Sama (or someone else you knows) can you say what actually he is accused of? Cause a lot of information if coming out, and RAPE and ARREST are a little stronger than what i heard, which i may just be wrong, so it would be good if someone said what they knew.

thanks...

Posted: Jul 21st, '06, 19:11
by gryzze

Posted: Jul 21st, '06, 19:16
by nikochanr3
Wow, worse than i thought. Jeez....

thanks for news

Posted: Jul 21st, '06, 19:20
by groink
nikochanr3 wrote:Groink Sama (or someone else you knows) can you say what actually he is accused of? Cause a lot of information if coming out, and RAPE and ARREST are a little stronger than what i heard, which i may just be wrong, so it would be good if someone said what they knew.

thanks...
You know what? I agree with you! I think a person is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. And I, too, don't know exactly what crime Yamamoto actually committed. I don't even know what the legal age limit is for a person to have sex with an adult. There are a lot of unknowns regarding the actual situation.

However, the actions that took place in the geinokai within days is a known fact. Tossing away my own opinions on the system in Japan, the agency did what they felt was the right thing to do in their situation. Because the agency is 100-percent publicity, it had to fire Yamamoto because, as an employee, his actions affect the entire agency. It's just like any other company in the U.S.; if you do something wrong outside of the company, such as getting arrested for drunk driving, or even getting caught for smoking at a public restaurant when the company has a no-smokers policy, the company has the right to fire the employee.

If the agency/artist relationship was turned around, the agency would still represent Yamamoto because he needs the agency to handle all his PR affairs. As it turns out now, he has only himself. I guess the message in Japan is clear: Don't f*ck up! Regardless of who's at fault - just being associated with the problem is bad enough. This is one good thing about the jimusho; agencies like Hello! Project spend a lot of time teaching its employees on how to stay out of trouble, control their partying, avoid having relationships, etc.

--- groink

Posted: Jul 21st, '06, 20:25
by Littleangel91356
Well, raping a minor is a crime so this is understandable, cause it gives bad reputation to the company and they don't want more affects coming from him to the company.

Well it's wrong for a mnor to be drinking also, it's her fault also. She should be fined with the alcohol xharge.

But that's weird..in japan, if you are over 16, you can actually marry if you got the privlige from the parent and it means it's a adult. But rape is still a crime I guess.

Posted: Jul 21st, '06, 20:48
by nikochanr3
Littleangel91356 wrote:Well, raping a minor is a crime so this is understandable, cause it gives bad reputation to the company and they don't want more affects coming from him to the company.

Well it's wrong for a mnor to be drinking also, it's her fault also. She should be fined with the alcohol xharge.

But that's weird..in japan, if you are over 16, you can actually marry if you got the privlige from the parent and it means it's a adult. But rape is still a crime I guess.
even if it turns out to be consentual, the whole going out with the young girl getting her drunl and sleeping with her is no good. He does have a negative history about young girls though...he mentions wanting to date them often too on the show.

:-( kind of sad for kato koji. that looked horrible for him.

Posted: Jul 25th, '06, 16:10
by Crazy Penguin
To be honest, if I'm his boss and he touches a minor... I'll fire him without hesitation, whether he's an artist or a programmer or whatever else. You don't touch minors. They're off limits. Rape or not wouldn't even matter to me. The girl's a minor, period, that's all I need to know. The rape part would just make it worse and would, possibly, lead to me beating his sorry ass out of the office.

If he proves to be innocent, fine, no hard feelings. But if not... oivech *gets the ugly, pointy stick!*

And if she'd be my daughter... he'd learn swimming with concrete shoes.

Posted: Jul 25th, '06, 16:32
by Kamui6
I wonder if the word "Rape" is being used because the person is under-age and not the act itself.

You know even if they girl gave her consent, it wouldn't matter as long as she's underaged, they will look at it as "Statutory rape". You know how the press likes to leave things to the readers imagination. :unsure:

Re: Tokyo Tower Cancelled?

Posted: Jul 25th, '06, 16:41
by Patxi
    nikochanr3 wrote:
    You should remove the link in the first post
    • This video has been removed at the request of copyright owner Nippon Television Network Corporation because its content was used without permission

      Posted: Jul 25th, '06, 17:20
      by rdoll
      Crazy Penguin wrote:To be honest, if I'm his boss and he touches a minor... I'll fire him without hesitation, whether he's an artist or a programmer or whatever else. You don't touch minors. They're off limits. Rape or not wouldn't even matter to me. The girl's a minor, period, that's all I need to know. The rape part would just make it worse and would, possibly, lead to me beating his sorry ass out of the office.

      If he proves to be innocent, fine, no hard feelings. But if not... oivech *gets the ugly, pointy stick!*

      And if she'd be my daughter... he'd learn swimming with concrete shoes.
      Yes, I have to agree with you on this. It doesn't matter if it's a rape or on her own will. You must never slept with minor. That just wrong. And eventhough it still not proven that he is guilty, I can understand why they fired him. I think, they do have an evidence that he was with the girl in the day stated.

      Actually, I can forgive a Murderer even if he kills my own mother. But pedophile, rapist or someone who involve in child pornography or prostitution, this guys is the lowest scumbags that can ever exist in this world. They deserve to be tortured yakuza way.(Worst than the one in 'Ichi The Killer')

      Posted: Jul 25th, '06, 17:51
      by Kamui6
      rdoll wrote:
      Crazy Penguin wrote:To be honest, if I'm his boss and he touches a minor... I'll fire him without hesitation, whether he's an artist or a programmer or whatever else. You don't touch minors. They're off limits. Rape or not wouldn't even matter to me. The girl's a minor, period, that's all I need to know. The rape part would just make it worse and would, possibly, lead to me beating his sorry ass out of the office.

      If he proves to be innocent, fine, no hard feelings. But if not... oivech *gets the ugly, pointy stick!*

      And if she'd be my daughter... he'd learn swimming with concrete shoes.
      Yes, I have to agree with you on this. It doesn't matter if it's a rape or on her own will. You must never slept with minor. That just wrong. And eventhough it still not proven that he is guilty, I can understand why they fired him. I think, they do have an evidence that he was with the girl in the day stated.

      Actually, I can forgive a Murderer even if he kills my own mother. But pedophile, rapist or someone who involve in child pornography or prostitution, this guys is the lowest scumbags that can ever exist in this world. They deserve to be tortured yakuza way.(Worst than the one in 'Ichi The Killer')
      Always ask for ID before you sleep with a female, especially when you're famous :lol

      Posted: Jul 25th, '06, 18:19
      by nadesico
      erm, can someone explain who is yamamoto and about his past please? I don't manage to understand this issue, thanks alot and sorry to bother you all

      Posted: Jul 25th, '06, 19:19
      by nikochanr3
      Do you know Mechaike? Yamamoto is a big part of that show, and is partners with another famous comedian Kato Koji. He's kind of fat and silly, that's his part and his role. (They make fun of him, he gets upset, etc.) Supposably, he's had issues in the past with women, especially young women. I don't have many clear cut examples, but one i know is HaniKami rejected him as a potential date. I've also heard him complain about not dating bikini models or young girls, in fun supposably but it cuts too deep now.

      More in the know japanophiles, fill in some details please. Oshiete Kudasai!