Onigoe Tomahawk’s Ryo-chan Calls Ken Watanabe “Trash”; Lawyer Points Out “Possibility of Criminal Liability”

Is he really in a position to judge his juniors?

This time, it doesn’t look like it’ll end with their usual “comedic bickering.”

A controversy has erupted after Ryo-chan (40) of the comedy duo “Onigoe Tomahawk” verbally attacked “Un-jash” member Ken Watanabe (53) on social media.

On July 8, Ryo posted on X:

“Ken Watanabe, how long are you going to be trash, you piece of shit? After doing something like that, are you really in a position to judge your juniors? This seriously makes me sick. Why the hell do I have to worry about trash like that?” (Exact quote)

She later posted a lengthy explanation of the situation on X.

To summarize Ryo-chan’s posts, it appears that Watanabe’s side, through a senior former comedian, had requested that Ryo-chan appear on his YouTube channel as a promotional opportunity for Watanabe’s talk show scheduled for August. Ryo-chan was considering the offer positively, but the senior comedian acting as an intermediary unilaterally

“It’s difficult for Watanabe to appear,”

and turned down the offer. This apparently made Ryo-chan furious, prompting her to post on X. As of July 13, the post has not been deleted.

Watanabe’s agency denied the facts as presented by Ryo-chan, stating

“This matter originated from an appearance proposal made by a third party without the involvement of Watanabe or our agency. There is no fact that Watanabe himself wished to appear, nor is there any fact that our agency approved it. (Omitted) Expressions that significantly damage Watanabe’s character have been repeatedly used, and as an agency, we cannot possibly overlook this,”

—exploding with anger in a serious tone that was anything but “funny.”

Meanwhile, Kensuke Miyaji—a senior colleague who had been mediating the situation and is a former member of the comedy trio “Nibun no Go!” who now serves as the president of an event company—stated:

“There were serious oversights on my part regarding verification and the manner in which the request was made,”

He apologized, stating this.

The amount of the claim for damages is

“To sum it up, it seems Mr. Miyaji approached Ryo-chan without getting Mr. Watanabe’s approval. Since it actually looked like it might work out, he brought the proposal to Mr. Watanabe, but was turned down, which is probably why things got complicated. However, Ryo-chan doesn’t believe that either, saying, ‘Do you think you can just use your former senior at the production company as a shield and get away with saying, “I didn’t hear about it; I didn’t know”?　I’m a comedian too, so I know how these things work,” and continues to blame Mr. Watanabe. “Even though Mr. Watanabe has been involved in various scandals, Un-jash holds a top-tier position within their agency. Being treated like trash by junior comedians from other agencies would certainly damage the agency’s prestige,” said a sports newspaper reporter covering the entertainment industry.

Speaking of Onigoe, they’re known for their sharp tongue on their YouTube channel as well, having lashed out at various comedians.

Regarding this, his partner, Kin-chan, appeared on Yushiki Hiromasa’s “New York” YouTube channel—which went live on June 10—and said,

“There are more and more people on X who are so desperate to go viral that they’re harming others…”

“They’re trying to make money on X,”

and so on. Although their manager has cautioned them and such posts have reportedly decreased recently, this latest controversy erupted right on the heels of that.

“If he posts insults against others on X against the company’s wishes and refuses to delete them, Yoshimoto Kogyo may view this as a problem. Former ‘Plus Minus’ member Yoshimasa Iwahashi also had his contract terminated due to exposing other entertainers.It’s also said that Kuruma Takahira of ‘Reiwa Roman’ had his contract terminated after posting an apology video regarding an online casino incident without the company’s permission. If you don’t listen to Yoshimoto, there’s a possibility you’ll be ‘cut’,” (TV Station Entertainment Desk)

Furthermore, in this particular case, it may not be enough to simply brush it off by saying, “It’s just a comedian.” Given the possibility of factual errors, this site spoke with Attorney Kenta Morimi of the Morimi Law Office about the potential legal liability for a post that treated another person as “trash.”

“If Mr. Watanabe’s side files a police report or takes similar action, and the issue of criminal liability arises, the question that will be examined is whether it constitutes the crime of defamation.While the statement was made on social media—where anyone can see it—and thus could be considered public, terms like ‘trash’ or ‘shit’ do not constitute a statement of fact; therefore, the defamation charge would not apply. However, a separate charge of insult could be established.The penalty for the offense of insult was strengthened in July 2022 to include imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to 300,000 yen, and these penalties could be imposed.Next, regarding civil liability, while it is possible to consider filing a claim for damages based on a tort, it is difficult to calculate the exact amount of damages suffered. Even if a claim for compensation for emotional distress were filed, the amount would likely be no more than a few hundred thousand yen at most.”

This latest incident didn’t turn into their usual “fight routine.” Will Onigoe and Watanabe be able to “make up” after all?