Yusuke Narita’s Always on Fire Strategy – Group Suicide Remark Leads to CM Removal, Potential Disappearance from TV

On March 13th, the ominous term “group suicide” trended on X. This stemmed from remarks made by Mr. Yusuke Narita, an assistant professor at Yale University, in the past. 

He suggested that elderly people should engage in group suicide or group seppuku before becoming a burden, or words to that effect.

 

The reason for this trend was that Kirin, which had previously employed Mr. Narita for web advertising of their “Hyoketsu Sugar-Free” canned chu-hai,

“We have removed some of the posts regarding Hyoketsu Sugar-Free that were published since March. We have sincerely taken into account various opinions we received and made a comprehensive judgment. We will incorporate the feedback we have received into our future activities.”

The reason for this is that Kirin announced on their official X that they were removing the advertisements and making the withdrawal public. 

Mr. Narita has consistently expressed the belief that aging politicians and celebrities should retire whenever possible. He even directly told Mr. Ichiro Ozawa during a program’s online broadcast that since generational change is necessary, he should take the lead and retire.

 Whether this was intentional or coincidental is unclear, but as of the 13th, Mr. Narita’s latest X post was

“I asked Chairman Sakurada, the CEO of SOMPO Group and the top executive of Keizaido-yukai, to retire, but he declined.”

In response to his post from October 2022, he stated,

“It seems he will retire. Thank you for your hard work.”

As reported.

Mr. Kengo Sakurada is 68 years old this year, which could be considered elderly. From Mr. Narita’s perspective, he belongs to the age group that he would like to go away.

“For someone like Mr. Narita, who researches public policies using data and algorithms, he might have wanted to challenge the ongoing increase in the elderly population amidst the pressure on pensions and healthcare expenses. However, his use of the term group suicide was certainly inappropriate.” (TV station staff)

In the comments section of the post announced on Hyoketsu’s official X, there were comments from ordinary users, such as

“Unbelievable casting.”

“It’s not just a matter of retracting the posts. Did they not know about Mr. Narita’s remarks before casting him in the commercial?”

“Everyone’s voices aren’t in vain! Quick responses are appreciated!”

“It wasn’t as sweet as sugar-free.”

These are just a few of the many comments received.

However, Mr. Narita probably isn’t concerned about his past remarks. On the 8th, he left a post on X saying, 

“The best way to handle a fire is to always be on fire.”

I wonder if the opinions of the public resonate with this laid-back scholar.