News On Japan

Kenji Haga Arrested in Okinawa Over Indecent Acts in Okinawa

NAHA - The arrest of entertainer Kenji Haga, 64, on suspicion of committing indecent acts against two women has sent shockwaves after he allegedly kissed and touched women in their 30s and 50s at a restaurant in Okinawa Prefecture on the night of March 27th, 2025.

Police launched an investigation after receiving a complaint from one of the women and questioned people connected to the case, eventually identifying Haga as a suspect. He was arrested on the 9th on suspicion of non-consensual indecent acts. Authorities said Haga was acquainted with both women.

Haga made his debut in the entertainment industry at the age of 18 after graduating from high school. In 1994, he drew widespread attention amid revelations of relationship troubles and large debts, repeatedly using the word “sincerity” in comments about a woman he was dating, which led to him being nicknamed the “Sincerity General.”

Haga (1994): (Q. You keep repeating the word sincerity, don’t you?) Not just repeating it — I’m the Sincerity General. I’ve got ‘sincerity’ on my head. I’ll probably get scolded again.

In later years, Haga was arrested and indicted twice in connection with fraud cases.

In 2022, at age 61, he launched his own YouTube channel and began posting videos regularly. In his first upload, he spoke about the secret to staying youthful and shared aspects of his private life. In a video posted about two months before the alleged incident, he also spoke passionately about his commitment to the channel.

Haga (from a video released January 31st, 2025): “I will sincerely take in everyone’s feelings and opinions and work hard step by step this year, so please continue to support me. The Kenji Haga Channel will never give up.”

Haga had been running a company in his hometown of Okinawa. A staff member at a café he had visited said: “He would come in, have a meal, and leave cheerfully. He was often with women, and our staff had encountered him several times. He did stand out. After hearing about the arrest, it’s disappointing because he seemed like a friendly, nice person.”

Police have not disclosed whether Haga admits to the allegations, citing concerns that doing so could hinder the investigation, and are continuing to examine the details of the case.

Source: FNN

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific are expected to bring high waves and strong winds to Japan's Ogasawara Islands during the three-day weekend from October 10 to 12, while swells from the east could also affect coastal areas along eastern Japan's Pacific coast, according to the latest forecast issued at 10 p.m. on October 8.

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Entertainment NEWS

Entertainer Tamori and two other prominent figures were named Honorary Citizens of Tokyo on October 1 in recognition of their contributions to the capital's development and the lives of its residents, with an award ceremony held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government headquarters on Tokyo Citizens' Day.

Japanese director Tomoki Misato's stop-motion animation Candy Caries has won the Grand Prize in the children's category for ages 7 and up at the Ottawa International Animation Festival in Canada, one of the world's three major animation festivals.

Makoto Usui, the composer of "Shiawase Hakoberu Yoni," a song written in the aftermath of the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake that has become a symbol of hope for disaster survivors across Japan and overseas, died in July at the age of 65, leaving behind a musical legacy that his former students are determined to carry forward.

While millions of people across Japan enjoyed this year's five-day Silver Week holiday, workers at Kyoto's Toei Uzumasa Eigamura film studio theme park and a 24-hour smartphone repair service faced packed schedules, with some working late into the night to keep holidaymakers entertained and respond to emergencies.

Japan's oldest record company is turning to artificial intelligence to reshape one of the country's most traditional musical genres, unveiling an AI-generated enka singer as part of a new label combining the technology with the distinctive vocal style of Japanese ballads.

Tsunaki Mihara, a guitarist who rose to fame in the 1960s with the Group Sounds band Jackey Yoshikawa and His Blue Comets and remained active in music for decades, died of kidney cancer at a Tokyo hospital at 9:02 a.m. on September 11. He was 80.

Switching from an iPhone to an Android device, or playing on both at different times, turns something as simple as buying PokéCoins into a surprisingly confusing errand.

In this video, we cover the performances taking place this month at the Kabuki-za theatre in Tokyo!