Matsumoto Hitoshi Abandons Continuation of Trial, “Too Late Apology” Causes “Hurdle to Return to Terrestrial Broadcasting”.

“I think they thought they had lost it now that the backdoor maneuvering had been uncovered and they knew the woman was going to fight back thoroughly. In order not to make the wound any deeper, it seems that they were proceeding with the discussion in a broken way.

The following is an excerpt from a comment jointly made by Matsumoto’s attorney, Masahiro Tashiro, and others,

We have confirmed the contents of Matsumoto’s complaint, including the fact that there is no physical evidence to directly prove the existence or otherwise of coercion. We have decided to withdraw the lawsuit in order to avoid further burden and inconvenience to many people by proceeding with the trial.

And..,

In Matsumoto, I used to attend a meeting attended by women. I would like to frankly apologize if any of the women who attended the meeting were offended or hurt.

He also apologized to the women.

Weakness and Pride

Many people may have felt that Matsumoto’s side was not ready to make such an apology at this point, still insisting that there was no physical evidence.

If they would have apologized now, they would have said, when the report first came out, “The report may not be true in some respects, but we deeply apologize if we have caused any discomfort to the women,” which is the “common phrase” that entertainers make when there is a report of this kind. If he had made a comment in the usual way that celebrities usually do when there is a report like this, or if he had given a proper explanation and held an apology press conference, the situation would not have been as serious as it was. It would have been too late.

Matsumoto-san is usually a low profile person who treats all parties concerned and the media with a low profile, but there are times when I sense his “timidity” and pride, which has put him in a difficult situation. This has put him in a difficult situation.

While the court case has been attracting attention, fans’ wishes for Matsumoto’s return have not disappeared, according to a producer at a key station,

According to a producer at a key station, “I didn’t know about the forced sexual acts, but many people in the industry and in the media knew that Matsumoto and his friends were doing such glaring things. It came to light, and this is the result. In this day and age, many station staff members believe that it is better not to allow Mr. Matsumoto to return to work so that he can learn the lesson that “television will become impossible” if he is found out. In addition, before the facts were clear, Mr. Matsumoto unilaterally announced his suspension and voluntarily left the program. Naturally, this has inconvenienced the program side. Moreover, it turned out that Mr. Matsumoto’s absence did not have much of an impact, and sponsors would not give the OK if they thought about the risk of receiving complaints by having him return to TV.”

In the end, Matsumoto ended the trial with an apologetic comment. The hurdles to a return to terrestrial television are quite high.