“Who Knew He’d Be the First to Slip Up?” Shuto Inomata’s Sudden Arrest Shatters His Impeccable Image

To keep the other members’ contact information hidden

Shūto Inomata (25), who joined “timelesz” in February last year, was arrested on suspicion of causing injury after allegedly punching a female acquaintance and injuring her. As of September 28, details of the incident had yet to emerge, leaving fans in shock.

“The incident reportedly occurred at around 10:30 p.m. on September 18. Inomata is suspected of punching a 26-year-old female acquaintance in the face several times inside a car parked in a convenience store parking lot in Tatsumi 3-chome, Koto Ward, Tokyo, injuring her. The woman sought help from a convenience store employee, and Inomata was arrested by police officers who arrived at the scene. He reportedly told investigators, ‘We got into an argument, and I panicked. I may have accidentally hit her.’ Following his arrest, STARTO ENTERTAINMENT announced that Inomata would suspend his activities,” said a social affairs reporter for a national newspaper.

Inomata joined “timelesz” after participating in “timelesz project -AUDITION-,” the audition program to recruit new members for the group. The show was streamed exclusively on Netflix and is commonly known as “Taipro.” His airhead persona had endeared him to both his fellow members and viewers.

At the same time, some people had praised Inomata for his risk-management skills. During an Instagram livestream in the summer of last year, it came to light that he had saved the other members’ names in his phone’s contact list with the character “わ” (wa) at the beginning of each name. When Inomata explained, “That puts them at the very bottom of the contact list, so they’re easy to find,” Fūma Kikuchi (31) suggested that he could simply use “あ” (a) instead.

Inomata countered that if he used “あ,” the “timelesz” members’ contact information would be immediately visible to others as soon as they opened his phone’s contact list.

He Was Even Careful About Being Seen Walking With Female Relatives

“When previously unreleased footage from Nika Game, the variety show on TV Asahi that Inomata regularly appears on, was made available, his strong risk-management skills also became a topic of discussion. After joining the group, the members were talking about whether anyone they hadn’t been in touch with before had contacted them. Inomata revealed, ‘When I was about to start the audition process, I changed all my contact information. I changed my phone number and everything.’ He added, ‘I was determined to do this, or rather, since I was going to audition.’ His senior at the agency, Takashi Nikaido (36) of Kis-My-Ft2, was thoroughly impressed, saying, ‘That’s amazing!’” (the same source)

In a group discussion with fellow new members Taiki Shinozuka (24) and Masaki Hashimoto (26), published in Nikkei Entertainment! (Nikkei Business Publications, January 2026 issue), Inomata expressed his resolve, saying, “I don’t want to make the people supporting me regret it, and I don’t want to give them the wrong impression, either.”

For example, he said he was afraid of being photographed in a way that made it look like he was posing for a two-shot with a woman who happened to be walking beside him while he was out alone. He was close to his female cousin and used to go shopping at malls with her often, but he revealed that recently he had become afraid even to meet her. He even found himself wondering, “Would it be okay?” when going out with his own mother.

Given all this, fans expressed their confusion on social media:

“Shūto-kun deleted contacts, thought about ways to minimize risks, and was even careful about walking with female relatives. I can’t believe he ended up involved in an assault case involving a woman.”

“I can’t believe Shūto, who took precautions to manage risks himself, would be the first to mess up.”

“When he joined Taipro, he was so serious about risk management that he deleted all his contacts, and he must have genuinely cared about the group. What’s happened is so far removed from the person fans thought they knew.”

Fans were left bewildered.

In the early evening of September 25, Inomata was released from Tokyo Bay Police Station. In front of the assembled press, he bowed his head and said, “I sincerely apologize for what has happened.” Will the full truth of the incident eventually come to light?