Death Threat Against KAT-TUN’s Kamenashi Prompts STARTO to Address Inappropriate Social Media Posts

The agency has begun taking serious measures against defamation and slander!

As social media usage increases, so do instances of defamation and threats, often targeting professional athletes, artists, and entertainers. Many have faced disruptions in their activities due to such posts.

To improve this situation, STARTO ENTERTAINMENT (formerly Johnny’s Entertainment), which represents numerous popular idols, is seeking the support of fans. On August 23, they announced the establishment of a “Reporting Window for Rights Violations to Protect Our Talents” (original text unchanged).

It seems the agency is taking serious measures, and there are rising voices praising STARTO’s proactive stance. 

STARTO’s official website has posted a notice titled “Establishment of a Reporting Window for Rights Violations Against Our Contracted Talents.” It states, “While advancements in IT have made society more convenient, malicious posts such as threats and defamation on social media have been increasing year by year, becoming a significant social issue. Our contracted talents face daily threats and clear defamation, with cases that cannot be overlooked.”

The company mentioned instances where they addressed previously unconfirmed issues based on information provided by fans, for which the talents expressed gratitude. To facilitate smoother reporting of potential rights violations against talents, they have established this new window.

Moving forward, the agency will review all reports, declaring, “We want to thoroughly understand and address the issues, including consulting external lawyers.”

“Just before STARTO issued this statement, news broke that a woman in her 50s from Okayama Prefecture was sent documents for allegedly threatening to kill King & Prince’s Nagase Ren. According to articles from ‘Jiji.com’ and others, the woman reportedly wrote on the internet bulletin board ‘5channel’ around 3 a.m. on December 23 of last year, ‘I will stab Nagase.’

Investigative sources indicate that the woman was a fan of the unit Number_i, consisting of former King & Prince members Hirano Sho, Kishi Yuta, and Jinguji Yuta, and claimed, ‘I retaliated because a fan of Nagase wrote defamatory comments about our group on the board.'” (sports newspaper desk)

On September 2, STARTO also issued a warning regarding “defamatory articles and posts” related to Nakama Junta from WEST. The agency expressed concern over false articles that spread on social media regarding a post he made in June, which included a photo of a mailbox (the post has since been deleted).

They announced, “We will take legal action against some malicious articles and social media posts as acts of defamation,” and indicated a commitment to strict measures against false articles and defamatory posts on social media, including legal actions.

“Fans are observing the attitude of the agency’s response.”

Following the announcement of STARTO, fans have responded with:

“Please do everything you can, agency.”

“I’m relieved to see that STARTO is committed to protecting the talents.”

“I can’t believe how responsive STARTO has been! I’m really moved by their dedication to safeguarding the talents.”

This has led to a wave of relief among fans.

On the other hand, regarding STARTO’s talents, there was a recent incident in mid-August involving a death threat against KAT-TUN’s Kazuya Kamenashi, which drew attention. Kamenashi appeared as a guest at a talk session during the “Thai Fair in Tokyo – THAI EXPO TOKYO 2024” held on August 17 at the event space in Yoyogi Park, Tokyo.

Before the event, there was an account on X (formerly Twitter) that hinted at harming Kamenashi, posting statements like, “I’ll get Kamenashi at the Thai Fest tomorrow.”

However, possibly due to the spread of concern by Kamenashi’s fans, the event ended without any major incidents, and there were no reports of disturbances at the scene. Given the severity of the post from the problematic account, it is likely that the agency and event organizers were informed about the situation.

“On Kamenashi’s YouTube channel, a video showcasing the ‘Thai Fair’ was released on September 4. According to what Kamenashi shared there, he originally planned to enjoy the venue after his appearance ended.

However, due to the large crowd that had gathered that day, he said, ‘Considering various security issues and so on, we decided not to go outside. It couldn’t be helped.’ He also mentioned, ‘It would be a big problem if something happened,’ suggesting that Kamenashi himself and the surrounding staff were wary of the earlier post. They secured a safe location and filmed while eating the prepared food,” a source explained.

In light of the earlier incident with Nagase, there have been increasing calls for action against accounts that harass Kamenashi. It may be that a time is approaching when the agency and fans unite to eliminate those who make malicious posts.