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<h3>They must have thought they could sweep it under the rug.</h3>
<p> Following the prosecution of former &#8220;Jungle Pocket&#8221; suspect Shinji Saito (41), the &#8220;unusual response&#8221; of NTV, with which he had a close relationship, is attracting attention.</p>
<p> ZIP!&#8221;, an information program in which NTV&#8217;s signature announcer Mami Mizuto (37) is the MC and used to appear as a regular on the day of the week, reported on this topic on October 8, commenting, &#8220;We are extremely surprised and regretful about this news report. NTV had heard that member Shinji Saito was not feeling well,&#8221; and that they had not received any explanation from Yoshimoto Kogyo regarding this matter.</p>
<p> Even the upper management of Nippon TV was astonished at this response, saying that it had completely escaped their notice,&#8221; said a source at the station.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> A source at Nippon TV is quoted as saying, &#8220;They are not satisfied with the Yoshimoto side&#8217;s response. In fact, it was reported from early on that there was a problem with a woman on the spot level. If he had been questioned by the police since July and was mentally disturbed, it cannot be said to be a lie, but it is just a convenient excuse.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Yoshimoto&#8217;s side apologized, saying, &#8220;We didn&#8217;t have all the details from Saito, so we couldn&#8217;t tell him what was really going on. Essentially, he was out of the picture when he was interviewed for sexually assaulting a woman. Last year, when he was suspended due to reports of alleged adultery, the station did not drop him from &#8220;ZIP! There is a growing sense of distrust toward Yoshimoto within the station.</span></p>
<p> On October 7, his wife, celebrity Saori Seto (36), released a comment. While acknowledging Saito&#8217;s alleged infidelity, she partially denied that it was non-consensual.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> As an office, we may have believed that Saito was not unilaterally at fault and that it was not sexual assault. However, while believing Saito&#8217;s claims, it seems that he was negotiating a settlement with the victim woman behind the scenes. It is my suspicion that Saito kept quiet about the incident until just before the woman reported it, believing that he would be able to bury the matter once a settlement was reached.</span></p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Another agenda behind the backward response"></div>
<h3>Fears of brand image degradation.</h3>
<p> Why has Yoshimoto fallen so far behind? A major entertainment executive analyzes that the reason behind this is the Matsumoto Hitoshi issue, which is currently on trial.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The trial of Hitoshi Matsumoto is a critical moment, so Yoshimoto is probably nervous about the &#8216;sexual assault issue,&#8217; which led to the half-hearted response to the TV station. If it comes to light that another comedian has a problem with sexual assault, following Matsumoto, the brand image will be severely damaged. Downtown&#8221; as an ambassador for the Osaka Expo is still using Matsumoto, along with Masataka Hamada. They are nervous that the damage to their image will accelerate and affect other major projects.</span></p>
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<p> The victim has stated in interrogation that she will never forgive him, and the investigation is expected to continue. If charged and convicted, the statutory penalty for non-consensual sexual intercourse is five years or more in prison. What will happen to Saito in the future?</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Even if he is not prosecuted, it will be very difficult for him to return to the entertainment industry. This is the third scandal in less than a year, including two reports of alleged infidelity last year. And since this time it is a police matter, the damage to his career as a performer will be immeasurable.</span></p>
<p> Yoshimoto Kogyo, the company that backs Saito, has terminated his contract. All that is left for Saito to do is to seek redemption for the victims and their families.</p>
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 Keisuke Nishi

 NTV's "unusual statement" in response to Yoshimoto Kogyo's "backward response" in the case of Shinji Saito's sexual misconduct has been attracting attention. What kind of communication took place between the two parties over the misconduct of a popular comedian?

Unusual &#8220;expression of feelings&#8221; on a TV program&#8230; &#8220;Distrust of Yoshimoto Kogyo&#8221; is growing within Japanese TV stations in response to the Saito problem.

Unusual “expression of feelings” on a TV program… “Distrust of Yoshimoto Kogyo” is growing within Japanese TV stations in response to the Saito problem.

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