Takuya Kimura Faces Backlash Over Solo Concert Remarks on Abuse Victims

Former Members’ Reactions? Kimura’s Solo Concert Remarks Spark Backlash

Takuya Kimura (51) held his solo concert, TAKUYA KIMURA Live Tour 2024 SEE YOU THERE, at Yokohama Arena on October 13 and 14.

This concert marked Kimura’s return to solo performances after two and a half years. However, his comment on stage—“I almost rotted”—has sparked controversy, with many associating it with the sexual abuse allegations surrounding the late Johnny Kitagawa, founder of the former Johnny & Associates (now SMILE-UP.).

After SMAP disbanded at the end of 2016, Kimura resumed his solo music career in 2020. In February and March 2022, he held his second solo concert tour, though it was heavily impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. At that time, Kimura urged his fans to not rot, as the world was struggling under the pandemic.

Now, Kimura’s recent comment—“I almost rotted”—has ignited a fresh controversy. An entertainment writer offers further insight.

“The comment spread when a fan who attended the concert transcribed Kimura’s statement and posted it online. The post, which included the sentiment, ‘The Kimura Takuya I know, said that for the first time in his life, he almost rotted during these two years. It was so painful and frustrating that I couldn’t stop crying,’ received over 50,000 likes.

This has become a major topic of discussion among fans of STARTO ENTERTAINMENT as well. After the sexual abuse scandal led to some talent leaving the agency, there have been voices of gratitude such as, ‘We’re thankful that Kimura Takuya is still with STARTO’ and ‘Kimura staying with the agency is truly reassuring for the juniors’ (Entertainment writer).”

 On the other hand, harsh opinions from SMAP fans followed.

It seems that the 2016 dissolution controversy and the three former members who left the agency (Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori) came to mind, and the following words were posted.

“I was disappointed by Takuya Kimura. If you think about the victims, he shouldn’t have said that, and it seems like it was fine for him 8 years ago. I thought he was being insensitive in all directions.”

“Isn’t Kimura just being spoiled when he says he was ‘about to rot’ in that situation? If it was that hard, he could have just left the agency.”

“How can Kimura say he was about to rot? The three of them haven’t even been able to appear on terrestrial TV for the past eight years, and they barely got to promote their movies or stage productions.”

Nagatō, who exposed the sexual assault, voiced criticism. The image of the person has been completely overturned.

Speaking of Kimura, he has a past of causing a major uproar with an Instagram post. On September 7 of last year, the former Johnny’s Entertainment held a press conference, admitting the truth of the sexual abuse committed by Johnny Kitagawa and issuing an apology.

After the conference, Kimura posted a show that must go on! on Instagram. This phrase, meaning the show must continue, was a saying that Johnny Kitagawa had valued and passed down during his lifetime.

However, posting this phrase at such a sensitive time, which reminded people of Kitagawa, led to a backlash accusing Kimura of showing a lack of consideration for the victims. The post was later deleted.

Then, with his recent remarks at a concert, the controversy flared up again. The news site “Shūkan Josei PRIME” published an article titled, “‘It’s as if I’m the only victim’—Takuya Kimura makes another out of touch comment, his words during the live MC pour fuel on the fire” (original text preserved). In response, Koji Nagatō, a former junior who publicly accused Johnny Kitagawa of sexual abuse, shared the article’s link on his X (formerly Twitter) account, criticizing Kimura with the following remarks.

“I used to admire SMAP and joined the agency because of them. There’s never been anyone whose image has turned upside down like this. Whether it’s careless or not, how many times is this? There are still many victims, like us, who are suffering and wounded. I hope you’ll refrain from making thoughtless statements.”

I can only hope that one day the victims will be able to live peacefully.