Suspension… “TOKIO” Taichi Kokubun: “I was finally exposed! Harassing true face” and the “road of hardship” that awaits him

The “secret face” that was shown on the set

Although the details of the compliance violations were not disclosed at the press conference held by President Hiroyuki Fukuda (63), the contents of “The! DASH! DASH!” and sexual harassment of a female staff member of the same program by asking her to send him sexually explicit photos.

Nippon TV has an internal reporting system called “Nittele Whistle,” and information regarding Kokubu’s harassment was submitted to this system. Based on this information, NTV began its own investigation, and this incident was undoubtedly uncovered.

On June 25, “TOKIO” suddenly announced its dissolution.

The kicker was the trouble with Taichi Kokubun (50), who was whistled out of the group on June 20. For multiple compliance violations in the past, Nippon TV has suspended the popular 30-year-old program “The! DASH! （DASH!” (Nippon TV), a popular program that has been running for 30 years. On the same day, STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, which has a group agent contract with “TOKIO,” announced that Kokubu would be suspended indefinitely.

Kokubu, who had six regular programs as both a group member and an individual member, had been featured in four commercials. His gentle appearance and the soft-spoken manner he displays on TV have made him a well-liked TV personality, but he has been showing his “secret face” on the set of a TV show. A director at a production company confided, “Since he was young, Kokubu has been a bit of a staff member.

Since he was young, Kokubu was furious at even the slightest mistake made by a staff member. Many times I saw young ADs at the production company being kicked or grabbed by the hair by Kokubu. Cowardly as it may seem, he would never take such an attitude in front of someone with power, such as the show’s producer or general director. Masahiro Matsuoka (48) and Tomoya Nagase (46) hated that aspect of Kokubu’s behavior and would stop him when they saw him being harsh with a young staff member, saying, “Stop it! When they saw Kunibun being harsh with young staff members, they would stop him and say, “Stop it!

This is not the only “secret face” of Kokubu. According to a Nippon TV employee, “He was also known for his habit of sexual harassment.

Whenever he found a female staff member or stylist he liked, he would try to get close to her by holding a drinking party. The worst was when he was on location in the countryside. Sometimes he would get loose and touch the stylists who attended the drinking sessions. Those who know the real face of Kokubu must have felt that he had finally been put to death.

Another Nippon TV staffer said, with a note of self-recrimination, “The TV station is also to blame for exacerbating Kokubu’s harassment.

In ’18, when former member Yamaguchi Tatsuya (53) was sent to prosecution for indecent assault of a high school girl, the staff of “Tetsuwan! I wondered what was going to happen, but the upper management of the program said, ‘We want to do something about Mr. Yamaguchi. The younger staff members were stunned, saying, ‘We can’t do anything about it or anything …… when he’s been sent for questioning. I believe that the company’s attitude of putting the talent before the victim exacerbated Kokubu’s harassment.”

With the disappearance of Yamaguchi, Nagase who retired from show business, and Kokubu, what will happen to the long-awaited restart of the five-member TOKIO group? Toshio Ishikawa, a longtime entertainment reporter for Nippon TV’s programs, said, “I heard that Kokubu was pressuring the staff to send him indecent photos.

When Yamaguchi left the group, all members of ‘TOKIO’ held a press conference to fulfill their accountability. When Yamaguchi left the group, all the members of ‘Tokio’ held a press conference and held themselves accountable, which was highly appreciated and helped Tokio maintain its popularity. This time, however, there was no explanation, and Kokubu’s actions remain in the dark. If a press conference is not held immediately, led by the leader, Shigeru Jojima (54), the problem will become more serious and it will be difficult for the group to survive. There is a danger that the group will follow the same path as “KAT-TUN,” which disbanded in March of this year due to a string of member scandals and departures.

The two-facedness of Kokubu and the harassment that has long been left unchecked by the TV stations that prioritize the protection of the talents. Unless the pus is drained out of him, he will not return to the public stage anytime soon.

In October 2010, this magazine witnessed a meeting between Kokubu and Matsuoka. They spent about two and a half hours at a yakiniku restaurant and a bar in Nishi-Azabu.

From the July 11, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY