Teruyuki Kagawa’s Forceful Breakthrough – A Tip-off Phone Call at Night that Determines His Future

He seems to be trying to force his way through.

On August 26, popular actor Teruyuki Kagawa, whose sexual assault allegations were reported in the weekly magazine Shincho, apologized on “THE TIME,” a TBS program in which he serves as MC on Fridays, and apologized for his behavior.

According to the magazine, Kagawa had sexually assaulted a club hostess in Ginza, Tokyo, in July 2019. The hostess filed a lawsuit against the club’s mama, but the lawsuit was withdrawn last year. Kagawa said at the beginning of the program

I am truly sorry for the inconvenience, worry, and heartache I have caused you.

The company apologizes for the inconvenience, worry, and heartache it has caused everyone. He did not give details of the sexual harassment or refer to the female victim.

I will reflect deeply on my own actions, and I will rededicate myself to my daily duties with a firm sense of self-discipline. I will also continue to take up the challenges of the work I have been given to do with sincerity, diligence, hard work, and my utmost effort. Above all, I will never forget to be grateful for the opportunity to spend a day here.

He vowed to make a fresh start. His remarks indicate that he has no plans to drop out of the show or refrain from his activities.

In the entertainment industry, the sanctions of suspending activities and leaving the office were imposed on comedy duo Un-jash’s Ken Watanabe for his scandal done at a multipurpose toilet in 2020 and actor Houka Kinoshita for his reported sexual assault earlier this year. The difficult part this time, however, is that Kagawa is not a member of the group.

However, what is difficult this time is that Kagawa is not the subject of a lawsuit. Furthermore, Kagawa has apologized to the woman and obtained her forgiveness.

Kagawa said, “Legally, there is no problem, and the matter itself has been settled. Mr. Kagawa is an indispensable actor for NHK and other key commercial broadcasters, and his absence would have a major impact. How will the public receive his apology? First of all, they will see how the public reacts to his apology,” said a TV station official.

On the other hand, even before the apology was made, TBS had already announced that there would be no change in the casting of the program, and NHK E will continue to air its regular program, “Insects! Insects are amazing!” will continue.

The hostess and the restaurant still do not know what the terms of the settlement will be. In addition, although the store would normally have warned Kagawa of the sexual harassment or had a black dresser come out, the situation was left unresolved.

This suggests a special relationship between the store owner and Kagawa or the people around him. The details of this relationship may be reported in the future, so I think it is premature to decide whether or not to drop out of the board before that time.

Kagawa has appeared in many TV commercials. He was appointed editor-in-chief of “Toyotimes,” a popular on-demand media started by Toyota Motor Corporation in 1919. He also appeared in a commercial for Suntory’s “Perfect Beer” with Masato Sakai, with whom he co-starred in “Hanzawa Naoki” (TBS).

Other companies, such as Kincho and Adult Auto Insurance, have used Kagawa as their image character.

Kagawa’s TV show may be good, but the commercials are not,” said Kagawa. Toyota is one of Japan’s leading companies, and their image is very important to them. Suntory will take severe action against Kagawa for sexual harassment at a bar.

Mr. Kagawa’s fee is estimated to be more than 40 million yen per commercial, but this one incident has caused a huge drop. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is now without knowing it and has been given ‘zero commercials’.

The press has received a tip-off about Kagawa’s drinking habits, which have not come to light until now. A reporter in charge of entertainment at a sports paper said

Kagawa is a strong drinker, and we have never heard of him getting into trouble at the launch of a TV drama. However, it seems that there were many times when he relaxed his tension on the streets at night. There is a possibility that such stories will come out like a hot potato in the future.”

Will Kagawa’s forceful breakthrough work?