Yuta Kishi Causes Stir After Commenting on Logo Plagiarism Allegations

Former King & Prince members Yuta Kishi, Yuta Jinguji, and Shiyou Hirano moved to TOBE, which is headed by Hideaki Takizawa, and started their activities as “Number_i.” When they announced their formation in October, controversy arose on SNS because the logo of the group, which mainly consists of “N”, looks very similar to the logo of the band “The BONEZ”. Although the two groups recently released a statement indicating an amicable settlement, Kishi’s X (formerly Twitter) received harsh comments.

On November 20, TOBE uploaded a comment titled “Regarding Number_i’s group logo” on its official X and other sites. The company announced that it had obtained the understanding of The BONEZ and that the group would continue its activities without changing the group logo. 

“The BONEZ, on the other hand, said, “Logos are similar but different,” and “I think it would be good if each side took pride in its own logo,” After the Number_i logo was revealed, some people praised Takizawa’s skill in not neglecting the point that was pointed out on the Internet as “plagiarism,” and in taking the proper steps to deal with the issue.Now that this point has been cleared up, Number_i will be able to get back to full-fledged activities as an artist,” said an entertainment writer.

Meanwhile, on his X, Kishi quoted The BONEZ’s post, “I hope you will support each group!”

There was a series of harsh comments such as:

“From what standpoint are you saying this?”
“The BONEZ accepted your offer and allowed you to use their logo, so the first thing you should do is apologize and thank them.”
“It’s very rude and condescending.”

Kishi is famous for his natural character, but in a sensitive issue like this, he should have chosen his words with a little more consideration for the other party.