<figure id="attachment_321644" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-321644" style="width: 1847px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="7b03263e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/07/1b33d94fdcf7046056209d122941b4ea.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-321644" class="wp-caption-text">Yamashita Tatsuro&#8217;s controversial comments on the issue of Janie Kitagawa&#8217;s sexual assault (from Warner Music Japan official website)</figcaption></figure>
 Even the great Tatsuro Yamashita (70) is now treated as an &#8220;old man&#8221; in this world.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 Singer-songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita is a major figure representing the Showa and Reiwa eras. Although he rarely appears in public and has been quietly creating songs, he has recently been criticized for his comments related to the sexual assault issue of Johnny&#8217;s office founder, Mr. Kitagawa, who is also the founder of Johnny&#8217;s. The criticism began with a comment made by a music producer, Mr. Matsumoto, about the sexual assault of Mr. Kitagawa.
 It all started when Kiyoshi Matsuo, a music producer, was &#8220;terminated&#8221; from Yamashita&#8217;s agency, Smile Company. The reason for this was that Matsuo had complained about the sexual assault problems at the Johnny&#8217;s&#8217;s office, and he wrote on Twitter on January 1
 Tatsuro Yamashita also agreed with the company&#8217;s policy.
 Tatsuro Yamashita also agreed with the company&#8217;s policy,&#8221; he clarified on Twitter on January 1. Smile Company is a close friend of Johnny&#8217;s office, and Yamashita has provided songs for Johnny&#8217;s celebrities such as Masahiko Kondo and KinKi Kids.
 Yamashita appeared on TOKYO FM&#8217;s &#8220;Yamashita Tatsuro&#8217;s Rakuten Card Sunday Songbook&#8221; broadcast on January 9. Regarding the termination of Matsuo&#8217;s contract, Yamashita said, &#8220;Originally, there was no employment relationship with Matsuo.
 The decision to terminate the contract was made by the president of the office.
 &#8220;I did not urge him to terminate the contract.
 He denied this.
 So far, so good, but Yamashita had heard rumors about a series of sexual assaults, but he was not aware of the fact that he had been involved in any of them.
 &#8220;I&#8217;m a music industry insider, so I have no idea about the inner workings of the Johnny&#8217;s office,&#8221; he said. I have no way of knowing the facts of the sexual assaults.
 He commented, &#8220;I have no knowledge of the inside of the Johnny&#8217;s office. Toward the end of his speech, he said
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 If you interpret my attitude as a form of discovery or being wrapped up in something long and complicated, that&#8217;s fine. I am sure those people do not need my music.
 I am sure that such people do not need my music.
 This &#8220;superior&#8221; attitude was criticized. On the Internet, some people said
 &#8220;If you don&#8217;t like it, don&#8217;t listen to it.
 Who the hell do you think you are? 
 I didn&#8217;t think you were that kind of person. 
 I&#8217;ve been a fan of yours for a long time, and I&#8217;m sorry to hear you say this.
 I have been a fan for many years, but this comment is unfortunate,&#8221; and &#8220;I didn&#8217;t think he was like that. Some even called Yamashita an &#8220;old man&#8221; and urged him to leave the music industry.
 Yamashita&#8217;s argument is clear: he does not condone sexual assault, but he respects Janie Kitagawa as a producer. However, it is not in line with the current trend of wanting things to be black and white.
 &#8220;He is defending Johnny&#8217;s.&#8221;
 This has been taken as &#8220;defending Johnny&#8217;s needs,&#8221; which is not in line with the current trend to make things black and white. Some people in the music industry also commented on this.
 It is indeed a pity to treat a person who has contributed so much to the industry as an &#8220;old man,&#8221;&#8221; said one music insider. As a result, Mr. Yamashita should not have spoken on the radio. His office should have handled it.
 Yamashita should have handled the situation.
 Yamashita is not the only one who has been criticized as a &#8220;Mere Old Man.&#8221; Hiroshi Sekiguchi of &#8220;Sunday Morning&#8221; (TBS), Isao Cho, a baseball critic who was once famous for his &#8220;opinionated opinion&#8221; on the same program, former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, Taro Aso, and Toshihiro Nikai, who have often misspoke in political circles, have also been ridiculed as &#8220;Mere Old Men. In politics, former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, Taro Aso, and Toshihiro Nikai have been derided as &#8220;old-timers.
 Gaffes and abusive language are out of the question, but people who fail to change old values and are out of step with the times tend to be called &#8220;Mere Old Man&#8221;&#8221; (sports newspaper reporter).
 On the other hand, there are people who remain a guiding light even in old age, including Tatsuya Nakadai, a 90-year-old actor.
 In March, at the age of 90, Nakadai took on the challenge of performing a &#8220;one-man show. According to a person involved in the stage, &#8220;Tickets sold out immediately.
 It is unthinkable for a 90-year-old actor to do a one-man show. I wonder how she remembers her lines. Many veteran actors were inspired by Ms. Nakadai&#8217;s story, saying, &#8216;I can&#8217;t lose to her, too.
 He said, &#8220;I am not a good actor.
 In this unpleasant world, we are called &#8220;old people&#8221; whenever something happens, but there are people like Nakadai who defy age and are still active.
 We hope that Yamashita will continue to create surprising works and silence the criticism of the &#8220;old.

 The issue of Janie Kitagawa's sexual assault has sparked a firestorm in an unexpected place. Yamashita Tatsuro, a major artist who has provided songs and other materials to his talents, has made controversial comments on the radio. ......

Tatsuro Yamashita is called an “old man” in the wake of the controversy over Janie Kitagawa’s “sexual assault issue.

Access Ranking