Former Grand Prix champion’s alleged infidelity and illegal receipt of 1 billion yen… “There are still more scandals,” lamented a person involved in the bicycle racing industry.

He illegally received 1 billion yen.

Weekly Woman” reported an alleged affair between Shinpei Kato, 47, a former top bicycle racer who once won the KEIRIN Grand Prix and is a commentator on the YouTube channel “Pe-chan Channel,” and his assistant, Ayaka Iwasaki (age withheld).

Kato was said to be upset immediately after being interviewed, but the bashing from bicycle racing fans was only temporary, and “now he is talking about the affair report as if it were a saga, and people around him are pulling their throats,” laments a person involved in bicycle racing.

He was boasting to his acquaintances that his name was on the cover of “Weekly Woman” alongside Masahiro Nakai (52) and Kei Tanaka (40), saying, “I’m on par with Nakai and Kei Tanaka.” ……

Kato and Iwasaki continued to appear together even after the affair was reported, and some people within Charli Lotto, which operates the channel, and its parent company, MIXI, have raised concerns about Charli Lotto’s lack of awareness of compliance.

Late last year, MIXI announced that a former representative director and a former employee of Chari Lotto had improperly received as much as 1 billion yen from a business partner. The former representative director was removed from the board of directors and the former employee was dismissed on disciplinary grounds. ……” (MIXI staff)

In fact, there are whispers that Kato and Iwasaki are also suspected of something other than infidelity. According to the aforementioned MIXI staff member, there is an accusatory document concerning the two.

According to a MIXI staff member, there is a documented accusation concerning the two. Immediately after that, a female assistant who had appeared regularly on the show was fired through no fault of her own. It has been said for some time that Kato has fired a number of female assistants simply because he didn’t like them, and there were some who suspected power harassment.

A senior entertainment industry executive believes that “this is not a problem with Kato personally, but rather with the awareness and structure of the bicycle racing industry as a whole.

Many of the female celebrities who work in the bicycle racing industry belong to small firms or are freelance. There are those who take advantage of their weak position and try to cast them as they wish.

Sexual harassment is also common, and when the female talent complains, they are told, “Who are you talking to?　You can fire me at any time.” or they are upset. …… One major agency I know tried to work in the bicycle racing industry, but they had to pull out after hearing such stories.

Even at the place where they were transferred to, the celebrity with whom they had an affair was used.

Mr. A, who works for a medium-sized advertising agency, confides, “I am concerned about the low level of compliance awareness in the bicycle racing industry.

A man in charge of events at a bicycle racing track in the Kinki region was found to be having an affair with a female celebrity he had hired as an MC. He was transferred to a backroom position in a boat racing business in a neighboring prefecture. …… To his surprise, the female celebrity with whom he was having an affair was not blamed for the affair. The female talent is still being used as an MC today. The man, too. The man, too, has continued to assign her to MC events at his new location. ……

On the other hand, Iwasaki, who was reported to be having an affair with Kato, has been dropped from his regular boat racing program, although he is still appearing on “Pe-chan Channel. Perhaps the boat racing industry is more compliance-conscious than the bicycle racing industry.”

Why have there been so many scandals in the bicycle racing industry? A person involved in bicycle racing believes that “the voting system may have something to do with it.

The only way to vote in boat races is through the official website, so the wishes of the promotion association are strongly reflected in the voting system. The racecourses have no choice but to abide by the rules set by the promotion association.

On the other hand, bicycle races outsource the operation of voting sites and racetracks to multiple private companies, so it is difficult for them to see if there is fraud such as the Charity Lotto or sexual harassment or power harassment related to related programs and events.

Of course, the JKA, which oversees bicycle racing, does not just sit idly by.

The JKA, which oversees bicycle racing, has not been resting on its laurels. “Various campaigns such as point rebates and the operation of YouTube channels were left entirely up to the individual private voting sites, but we believe that this led to the 1 billion yen charity lotto incident, and we have begun to reform the system. However, this is believed to have led to the billion-yen Charity Lotto case, and reforms are now underway to prohibit excessive promotions.

However, there is no doubt that the bicycle racing industry’s sales growth has been influenced by more profitable promotions than boat races. There are some who fear a decline in sales for the industry as a whole,” said a source from a major advertising agency.

Post smacks of a falling out

The Public Relations Group of the Charity Lotto Corporate Planning Department responded to Friday Digital’s interview as follows.

–Why do you continue to use Mr. Kato and Mr. Iwasaki even after the affair was reported?

We have conducted interviews and investigations with those involved in the program, including the two men, to be sure, but we have found no facts that support the allegations. Therefore, we recognize that there is no problem with continuing to use Mr. Iwasaki at this time.

–Is it true that we received a suspicious letter saying that a female assistant was fired at Mr. Kato’s request? If true, it could be considered an act of power harassment.

(He neither denied nor affirmed the existence of the suspicious letter.)

–(He did not deny or deny the existence of the suspicious documents.) “Do Mr. Kato’s series of acts violate the Code of Ethics common to all MIXI group companies?

We have not confirmed any facts or acts as you have pointed out, and accordingly, we are aware that there is no violation of the MXI Group “Code of Ethics” at this time.

The female anchor who appeared on the program before Iwasaki was appointed as a regular facilitator of “Pe-chan Channel” has since been removed from the program,

I will no longer appear on “Pe-chan Channel!　Thank you very much for your support until now.

This post became a topic of conversation among some fans.

There is no doubt that Kato and Iwasaki are so close that they are rumored to be having an affair. In fact, Kato was photographed going to Iwasaki’s apartment. It is no wonder that the company’s continued use of Kato, despite the fact that allegations of infidelity have been making the rounds for quite some time among those involved in bicycle racing, is considered a lack of awareness of compliance.

Even a popular celebrity like Taichi Kokubun (50) should be aware that if he is found to be in violation of compliance, he will lose all regular appearances and be suspended indefinitely.

Speaking of bicycle racing, scandals have also broken out on the part of the riders. This year, Yuki Kitai (35), a member of the Class S Team, and Satomi Noguchi (32), a member of the Girls Team, were found to have committed doping violations one after the other, fresh in our memories. Top athlete Shintaro Sato (48) complained in an interview with a sports newspaper, “I’ve seen some good things and some bad things, but I’ve also seen a lot of bad things.

Until now, nothing good or bad has been reported. But now they are being written about. This is a great thing. But we shouldn’t be dragging the industry down, even though everyone is trying to make it more exciting.

I hope that the words of a top athlete who is running for his life will resonate with those who are dragging the industry down.