Society

Idol singer Keiichiro Koyama suspended for encouraging underage girl to drink liquor

Jun 09 (Japan Today) - Keiichiro Koyama, 34, and Shigeaki Kato, 30, members of popular group News, promoted by Johnny & Associates, are in hot water for allegedly encouraging an underage girl to drink at a party.

The scandal was reported by tabloid magazine Shukan Bunshun in its June 7 edition. The story said the party was organized by Koyama himself, and that a then 19-year-old girl had been urged to drink alcohol in gulps.

Immediately after learning of the incident through the media, Johnny's released a statement saying that they "take the incident very seriously" and have decided to suspend Koyama from any entertainment activities for a certain time, while Kato, who was also present at the party, though did not organize it, had been officially reprimanded and asked to provide a written statement of regret.

In addition to being the leader of the group News, Koyama is also a popular newscaster on Nippon TV's News Every, a weekday daily news program.

Koyama officially apologized to viewers during the June 6 broadcast of the news program, saying he was explicitly told by the girl in question that she was 20 years old at the time of the party - the legal age for drinking in Japan. He further said, however, that regardless of the circumstances, he deeply regrets allowing the incident to take place.

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