Maho Yamaguchi is a member of Niigata-based idol group NGT48, a sister group of AKB48. Two men have been arrested for allegedly assaulting her. Yet tonight, it was Yamaguchi who apologised.
Run by a talent company known as AKS, AKB48 is one of Japan’s most successful idol groups with numerous spin-off groups, including NGT48 of which Yamaguchi, whom fans call “Mahohon,” belongs. Each of the groups has a massive amount of members—hence, the 48 number.
According to NHK, the two men, both in their mid-20s, forced their way into her home’s entryway on December 8. They allegedly grabbed her face and assaulted her.
https://t.co/7W9rSpXYBs
NHK, has covered the story on Maho Yamaguchi of #NGT48 They’ve seemed to have corroborated with police and confirmed some things. AKS has refused comment. I’ve translated below for fans interested.
❌no official report says specifically sexual assault. pic.twitter.com/gKCyh8ww6S— amina du Jean (@aminadujean) January 9, 2019
The two men said they “just wanted to talk with her.” They denied the assault and were later released without charge. Japan’s Daily Sports reports that it was told Yamaguchi screamed with surprise when she saw the men, causing them to cover her mouth. A police officer, the paper adds, arrived soon after.
Yamaguchi’s account of what happened is terrifying (translation by @jeauexe):
tw: assault
reading her account of the attack scared the shit out of me people really need to be punished and held responsible with lasting consequences for this. like holy fucking shit. pic.twitter.com/pvsRiMOHjg
— ???????????????????? (@jeauexe) January 9, 2019
Earlier this week, Yamaguchi spoke about what happened in an online stream, saying she thought she could have been killed. You can watch below, but it suddenly stops while she was speaking.
まほほん号泣配信 2/2 BANされるまで pic.twitter.com/kJQopW16j3
— (/ω\) (@korokoromilky) January 8, 2019
Here is a translation by @ithebigc of the speech:
Yamaguchi Maho’s SHOWROOM, full translation #山口真帆 #NGT48
I think this hits home for me not b/c it’s the 48G, but b/c the type of serious idol she describes is Sakura, someone who has fun but is diligent about her responsibilities. Thank God HKT has good managers & no snakes pic.twitter.com/8SOQukFiGq
— ithebigc(ケリー) (@ithebigc) January 9, 2019
As website Asian Junkie (via tipster Oxhex) points out, Yamaguchi had also discussed the incident on Twitter, alleging that a fellow group member had given out her home address and told the men when she would arrive. Yamaguchi accused the group’s management of covering up the incident.
Here are some translations of her tweets by @fryan_get.
I translated mahohon’s tweets about this pic.twitter.com/iV4IwSKFFp
— ryan@吉田運子 (@fryan_get) January 8, 2019
According to Daily Sports, NGT48’s management denies that another group member gave out Yamaguchi’s home address.
山口真帆 劇場に出てきて挨拶。
これはNGTの運営酷いわ。#山口真帆 #NGT48 #NGT48劇場3周年記念スペシャル公演 pic.twitter.com/f7V8zzTk3U
— ボン (@48_cap) January 10, 2019
Overnight, Yamaguchi went on stage and apologised for “causing trouble,” bowing several times before a packed crowd.
(cont)
fans: You did nothing wrong~!
Maho: I had an opportunity to talk with AKS staff. i hope this (incident) would be a chance to let NGT48 take a new direction, and i will take effort as teamG captain for that. plz keep on supporting NGT48.— nori (@na_fushigiyaro) January 10, 2019
Apologies are called for, but not from her.
Comments
23 responses to “Japanese Pop Idol Apologizes After Being Allegedly Attacked ”
She didn’t do anything wrong ffs.
Welcome to Japan. You apologize for everything no matter who’s at fault.
Pretty sure she was apologising for publicly accusing a fellow idol or management of leaking her address (as far as I can see, without evidence).
Is this in japan or Afghanistan?
i get the point you making but Afghanistan pop idols put a hilarious image in my head.
Pop idols as they go “pop”.
Poor lady 🙁
Poor lady 🙁 Why is she apologizing tho? She did nothing wrong
What sort of a sick society does she live in…
Japan’s idol industry is increadibly toxic and there needs to be far more light shone on how poorly it treats women.
This is true. Its largely cultural. But we dont have to accep it. Much like Saudi countries.
Saudi countries like Saudi Arabia and…?
Middle Eastern, that might sound racist or bigoted, but it’s true.
That’s true, though it doesn’t help that thousands of young people are lining up just for a chance at becoming an idol (men as well as women – I remember reading that male idols get pimped out. Actually pimped out. Openly).
Fame seems to be a lot more transactional in modern Asian countries in a lot of cases. The public is far more strict about what they won’t accept and woe betide you if you cross them.
as opposed to western countries where the pimping is done behind closed doors in Harveys office?
I remember reading a somewhat-similar story in the last few years when an Idol apologized for having a boyfriend…. I want to say she shaved her head to apologize or something ridiculous like that
With a title like that I thought she’d have made it up or something but no, she’s sorry for causing her management trouble? What???
Yup, BS Japanese culture in full swing.
Another example, My mate taught English in Japan in the 2000s, he saw a man assaulting a woman on a train (basically being a creepy, touchy perv) so he stepped in and dragged the guy to the station master as the girl wanted to make a complaint.
The stationmaster automatically assumed it was my mate that was doing the assaulting, and started verbally abusing my mate. When the woman clarified it was in fact the local guy, the station master’s attitude changed to that of “oh you naughty boy” towards the creepy touchy perv and then went ahead to berate the woman.
My mates suggested the police, the woman thanked him but said it is not worth it. So perv went on his way.
im surprised your mates didn’t kick his ass i know its a really bad idea you know you get charged with assault but i don’t think i would be able to stop myself.
He was tempted. But a foreigner doing a crime…they bring down the full force of the law. He borrowed a bike once (bikes are left lying around in suburban streets and are used by the locals on the street. Its a given your bike maybe used so you use another the locals do it all the time) Well, he got charged with theft.
Ok this is messed up. But isn’t she apologising for accusing a team member and management of letting out her address? Not because the incident caused trouble, but because she accused them for what may not be true?*
Thats what i thought this write up was implying
*It totally could be true too, seems plausible. But unless you have some sort of proof they told these 2 guys, straight up saying it in your recount of the incident is probably just stirring up trouble. IDK
That’s actually what I thought she was apologizing for, not that she was apologizing for being assaulted.
i thought the same
obviously if she is appoligising for being assaulted then yeh well other people have all ready covered my feelings on that.