Motionless After Arrest: The Shocking Image of Aぇ! group’s Richard Keita Kusama

He curled up his body and didn’t move an inch

At around 10 p.m. on October 4, a black sedan emerged from the parking lot of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Yotsuya Station. In the center of the back seat, a dark, shapeless figure could be seen. Looking closely, it appeared to be a person wearing a black hoodie, their upper body hunched forward. For less than ten seconds, as captured by the camera, the figure didn’t move an inch. With the unmoving black lump in the back seat, the car drove off—to transfer the detainee to another station.

That day, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested Aぇ! group member Keita Kusama Richard (29), an artist under STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, on suspicion of public indecency. At around 5:40 a.m. the same morning, he allegedly exposed his lower body near the entrance of a building in Shinjuku 2-chome.

“A man in his 30s witnessed the incident and called 110, saying, ‘There’s someone exposing himself,’” explained a reporter from the social affairs desk. “When officers arrived, they found Kusama standing alone with his pants and underwear down. He appeared to be intoxicated and was taken in voluntarily before being arrested. Police have not disclosed whether he has admitted to the allegations.”

On social media, a short 10-second video, said to have been taken just before the arrest, has been widely shared. It shows a man wearing a cap and mask peeking nervously out from the entrance of a building. The man is wearing only a white shirt on his upper body—his lower body completely exposed. While it has not been confirmed whether the man in the video is indeed Kusama, sources say the location shown matches the scene of the incident.

His first regular TV show in the Kanto region had just begun

〈We hereby report that our contracted talent, Keita Kusama Richard, has been arrested today. We deeply apologize for the great concern and inconvenience caused to fans and all those involved.〉

On the same day, STARTO Entertainment acknowledged the arrest on its official website and announced Kusama’s suspension from all activities. The rest of the group reportedly learned of the incident from staff members during breaks in their work.

“Aぇ! group is a five-member unit from Kansai, formed in February 2019 and named by the late Johnny Kitagawa. They officially debuted in March 2024, but since it was during the lingering aftermath of the sexual misconduct scandal, their activities didn’t immediately flourish.

Among them, Kusama had already gained recognition through frequent appearances on The! Tetsuwan! DASH!! (Nippon TV) even before their debut,” said an entertainment reporter.

After about a year and a half since their debut, the group’s popularity was rising. Their first regular TV show in the Kanto region, Aぇ! group no Q&Aぇ! (Fuji TV), aired as a special on October 3, with regular weekly broadcasts scheduled to start on October 12 — plans now derailed by the incident.

As an up-and-coming talent appearing on multiple programs, the impact of the arrest is significant. The production team of Q&Aぇ! is still discussing how to proceed, while the October 5 episode of The! Tetsuwan! DASH!!, which featured Kusama, was replaced with different content.

On TVer, five programs featuring Kusama have been pulled from streaming: Nep League (Fuji TV, Sept 15), Naniwa × Aぇ! no Chō Gattai Dekirukana? (Kansai TV, Sept 23), Sakagami Dōbutsu Ōkoku (Fuji TV, Oct 3), Kon’ya wa Nazotore (Fuji TV, Sept 30), Aぇ! group no Q&Aぇ! (Oct 3)

After years of hard work, the group had finally been ready to break onto the national stage — until this shocking incident. Whether Kusama can ever recover from this major setback remains to be seen.

(From FRIDAY Digital)

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