New testimony at Johnny’s press conference, where there was a “strange atmosphere” A “man” followed the smoker one-on-one to the smoking area.

On October 5, FRIDAY reported the actual “NG list” and testimony that management staff followed the “NG reporters” at the press conference.

One reporter said that other bizarre scenes were also taking place.

I remembered that the press conference on September 7 was a long one, and I thought it would be a long one this time, too, so I went to the smoking area to have a smoke on the way to the conference. The press conference was being held inside the hotel, and as I quietly exited to go to the smoking area, I saw a suited man in his 30s or 40s following me from behind.

When I entered the smoking area, the man followed me in. The smoking area was deserted and the man and I were alone. The man entered the smoking area, but he didn’t smoke and just kept staring at me. It was beyond creepy, it was quite scary. It was so bizarre that I couldn’t even calm down to smoke a cigarette.”

The one-on-one tailing by the man did not end until the reporter returned to the venue.

You were watching me all the way back to the press conference room. I don’t know if it was an employee of Johnny’s or an employee of the PR company, but it was most likely someone from the management side. There were other reporters who had similar experiences, and there was talk among media people that ‘there seemed to be a room in the hotel that they didn’t want the media to go near.

Of course, just because you are a reporter does not mean that you are allowed to freely come and go anywhere. However, it is highly questionable whether it was necessary to follow them to the smoking area of the hotel, a common facility.

Was this, like the “NG List,” another carefully prepared “countermeasure”?

Johnny’s is considering holding a third press conference. One can only hope that this time the media and the agency will be able to discuss the situation on equal terms…

FRIDAY Digital welcomes information and tips from everyone. Please send your information to the following information form or to our official Twitter.

Information form: https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/tips
Official twitter: https://twitter.com/FRIDAY_twit