KAT-TUN's Tanaka Koki gets fired by Johnny's Jimusho; KAT-TUN to remain as 4-member group

KAT-TUN's member Tanaka Koki had his contract terminated by Johnny's Jimusho with effect from 30 September as reported on 9 October. The agency also released a  fax statement stating that the reason for the termination was due to repeated violations of rules but did not go into specific details. As for KAT-TUN, it will remain as a four-member group. Tanaka also released a statement where he apologised to his fellow members for the trouble he had caused and thanked them for their support. He said that he plans to continue his activities as an artiste but hadn't decided on anything concrete yet.

Some possible reasons for the contract termination include:

- Tanaka's family member had opened a bar in Nishi Azabu this year and he is not only involved with the bar's management but also served customers at the counter. He was also said to have invited female celebrities who are his friends to the bar.

- He formed a music unit with people outside of KAT-TUN, had been holding performances outside and also sold various goods such as T-shirts without his agency's permission.

- Tanaka was reported to have taken naked photos of his tattooed body which were published in some magazines during late September.

- Tanaka had been involved in various scandals with female celebrities and models.

- It was speculated that the KAT-TUN concert tour which was supposed to have taken place in late May this year was cancelled due to his unacceptable behaviour.

Source: Nikkansports