Yoshinoya chain executive sacked over sexist remarks

Apr 20, 2022 | News On Japan

Apr 20, 2022 (Nikkei) - A managing director for "gyudon" beef bowl restaurant chain Yoshinoya has been dismissed over inappropriate remarks about young women made at a university-hosted lecture, the parent company said Tuesday.

Masaaki Ito, 49, who was also an executive officer at the parent company, Yoshinoya Holdings Co., was speaking Saturday at a Waseda University marketing event for working adults when he likened an approach to targeting young diners to keeping young women captive and getting them addicted to drugs.

According to Yoshinoya Holdings, Ito was attempting to get attendees to propose ideas for making young people fans of beef bowls when he said, "It's like a plan to get a green young girl from the countryside who doesn't know what's what to use (Yoshinoya) for the first time and get her totally hooked."

He prefaced the statement with an apology in case it offended attendees, according to Yoshinoya Holdings.

Yoshinoya Holdings said it dismissed Ito on Monday, stating, "They were significantly inappropriate remarks made officially that are completely unacceptable from the perspective of human rights and gender issues."

Typhoon Moves Away From Okinawa but Severe Weather Risks Remain

Large and powerful Typhoon No. 9 (Bavi) has made landfall in central China and is moving northwest, bringing an end to the worst of the rain across Okinawa while leaving dangerous seas and strong winds in its wake. Forecasters are also warning that the system could trigger heavy rain in Hokkaido later this week after transitioning into an extratropical cyclone.

Typhoon No. 9 Travel Disruptions Continue on Some Okinawa Routes

Transport disruption from Typhoon No. 9 (Bavi) continued on July 12, with airlines warning that some flights serving Okinawa’s outlying islands could still face delays, cancellations or conditional operations even after the storm moved away from the prefecture.

JAXA Successfully Lands Reusable Rocket Test Vehicle

JAXA successfully landed a small experimental vehicle for a reusable rocket on July 11, marking a step toward technology that could increase the frequency of space launches while helping reduce costs.

Bear Sightings Surge With 50 Cases in Iwate in One Week

A wave of bear sightings across Japan has forced the cancellation of traditional summer events, while one animal entered a home and came within inches of a sleeping resident's face.

Brutal Heat to Grip Japan as Heatstroke Risk Climbs

Japan is expected to remain under intense summer heat through next week as the Pacific high-pressure system continues to dominate the country, bringing widespread temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius and increasing the risk of heatstroke.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Kawagoe Seeks Removal of Unauthorized Mosque

An unauthorized Islamic prayer hall has been built on land in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, where new construction is generally prohibited, prompting the city to order the landowner to remove the structure.

Three Men Arrested After Masks and Crowbars Found in Parking Lot

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of preparing to rob a home in Saitama City after police found new face masks and crowbars hidden in shrubbery at a coin-operated parking lot.

Empress Harvests Silk Cocoons at Imperial Palace

Empress Masako harvested wild silk cocoons at the Imperial Palace on July 9, continuing the long-standing sericulture tradition passed down through generations of empresses since the Meiji era.

Firefighter Arrested for Allegedly Tying Up 6-Year-Old Girl

A firefighter with the Toyonaka City Fire Department has been arrested on suspicion of confining his live-in partner's 6-year-old daughter at their home and causing her injury.

Temple Priest Killed in Ishikawa, Son Arrested After Confessing at Convenience Store

A 30-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after allegedly stabbing his father, a temple priest in his 70s, to death at their home in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, on July 8, before going to a convenience store and telling a clerk, "I stabbed my father."