<figure id="attachment_479443" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1692px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-479443"><em><a href="#" data-ident_hash="57d1dc19"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/09/ae3e05e90d02de2b6732b042814757bd.jpeg" alt=""></a></em><figcaption id="caption-attachment-479443" class="wp-caption-text">Former &#8220;Jungle Pocket&#8221; member defendant Shinji Saito is due to receive a verdict in his criminal trial in November.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Seeking criminal punishment rather than a settlement</h2>
<p class="PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer" dir="auto" data-start="271" data-end="625">Former &#8220;Jungle Pocket&#8221; member Shinji Saito (43) was referred to prosecutors on suspicion of non-consensual sexual intercourse and non-consensual indecent assault over allegations of sexual assault that occurred inside a location bus in July 2024. At a hearing held at the Tokyo District Court on August 5, prosecutors sought a seven-year prison sentence.</p>
<p dir="auto" data-start="627" data-end="739">It was also revealed that the alleged victim had rejected a proposed settlement payment of ¥25 million, stating:</p>
<p dir="auto" data-start="741" data-end="792"><strong data-start="741" data-end="792">“I want criminal punishment, not a settlement.”</strong></p>
<p dir="auto" data-start="794" data-end="1139">Since the location-bus incident in July 2024 that triggered the case, the circumstances surrounding Saito have changed dramatically. Following his referral to prosecutors by the Metropolitan Police Department, Yoshimoto Kogyo terminated its management contract with him that same day. He was also forced to leave the comedy trio &#8220;Jungle Pocket.&#8221;</p>
<p dir="auto" data-start="1141" data-end="1570"><strong data-start="1141" data-end="1570">“At the trial, which began in March this year, Saito’s side has pleaded not guilty, arguing that he believed there had been consent, while the alleged victim testified and expressed strong feelings that he should be punished. If he is found guilty as prosecutors have demanded, there is also a strong possibility that he could receive an actual prison sentence without a suspended sentence,” </strong>said a sports newspaper reporter.</p>
<p dir="auto" data-start="1572" data-end="1820">The verdict is scheduled to be handed down on November 16, but the legal battle Saito is facing does not end with this criminal trial. It has emerged that, behind the scenes, he has also filed another lawsuit in which he himself is the plaintiff.</p>
<h2>Civil lawsuit filed at the end of July this year</h2>
<p class="PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer" dir="auto" data-start="1875" data-end="2012">The other source of trouble facing Saito involves a financial dispute over the sale of baumkuchen, a business in which he was involved.</p>
<p class="" dir="auto" data-start="2014" data-end="2320">&#8220;FRIDAY&#8221; previously reported allegations that Saito’s side had absconded with approximately ¥1.6 million in proceeds from a sales event held in Fukuoka in October 2025, allegedly by failing to transfer the money to Company A, which was his business partner at the time. At the time, Saito’s side countered:</p>
<p dir="auto" data-start="2322" data-end="2459"><strong data-start="2322" data-end="2459">“It is true that the money was not transferred, but in the first place, payment of our compensation from Company A had been delayed.”</strong></p>
<p dir="auto" data-start="2461" data-end="2507">The two sides’ claims were in direct conflict.</p>
<p dir="auto" data-start="2509" data-end="2581">Now, a new development has come to light. According to Saito’s attorney:</p>
<p dir="auto" data-start="2583" data-end="2929"><strong data-start="2583" data-end="2929">“Because the company [Company A] has made factually baseless claims suggesting that Mr. Saito committed embezzlement and has refused to pay the compensation stipulated under the contract, this matter has yet to be resolved. In response, Mr. Saito filed a civil lawsuit against Company A with the Tokyo District Court at the end of July 2026.”</strong></p>
<p dir="auto" data-start="2931" data-end="3082">In other words, Saito’s side, having been accused of absconding with the money, has itself become the plaintiff and taken the dispute to civil court.</p>
<p dir="auto" data-start="3084" data-end="3471">Facing a criminal trial in which prosecutors have sought a seven-year prison sentence over allegations of sexual misconduct, with the possibility of an actual prison term, as well as a civil lawsuit he has initiated over unpaid business compensation, Saito, once a popular television personality, now finds himself caught up in a “double trial” that could fundamentally alter his life――.</p>
<p dir="auto" data-start="3473" data-end="3986" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node=""><strong data-start="3473" data-end="3986" data-is-last-node="">[YouTube] On &#8220;FRIDAY TV’s&#8221; &#8220;Entertainment Reporters Channel,&#8221; active entertainment reporters provide an in-depth explanation under the title &#8220;Former Jungle Pocket Defendant Saito: &#8216;Seven-Year Sentence Sought&#8217;—The Truth Behind the Big Party One Week Later.&#8221; The program covers the shocking series of actions Saito allegedly took in Yamagata Prefecture, which &#8220;FRIDAY&#8221; was uniquely positioned to learn about, as well as the backgrounds of the people who gathered there, along with details from behind the reporting.</strong></p>
<div class="expapp-no-provided-scope expapp-no-provided-scope-end"></div>
<div class="expapp-no-provided-scope expapp-no-provided-scope-start"></div>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="元ジャンポケ斉藤被告　「懲役7年求刑」1週間後に大宴会の“真相”" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7vkUmXQhuc4?feature=oembed" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<div class="expapp-no-provided-scope expapp-no-provided-scope-end"></div>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>


 Ippei Hara

 Shinji Saito, a former member of “Jungle Pocket,” was referred to prosecutors on charges of non-consensual sexual intercourse and non-consensual indecent acts in connection with allegations of sexual assault aboard a location bus in July 2024. What is this “other trial” he is facing…?

Former Jang Porcket Star Shinji Saito Faces 7-Year Sentence—But There’s Another Lawsuit Behind the Criminal Trial

Access Ranking