TOKIO's Kokubun Taichi goes on an indefinite hiatus due to supposed "compliance violations"

This piece of news saddens me because it has to do with TOKIO, one of my favourite Japanese artists who I have been supporting for a long time since I came to know about them in 1996.

Over the last decade or so, the band has already gone through a number of hurdles and challenges which led to its members leaving one by one, be it voluntarily or not. The problem this time though is, nobody is saying what exactly is the issue other than it's a compliance violation. This will no doubt fuel lots of speculation and rumours swirling around that could be potentially even more damaging than the actual reason for Kokubun Taichi having to go on an indefinite hiatus. What could be serious enough to warrant him being taken off the shows but not to the extent of having a criminal complaint filed against him? So it's something that morally incorrect but legally OK? 

I just cannot wrap my head around this.

I think everyone is waiting for an answer but whether there will be one or if the official explanation reveals the reason in its entirety, only time will tell.

Here's the timeline of what's known so far based on various news reports (all dates/times in JST):

27 May 2025

NTV was said to have uncovered the multiple incidents involving Kokubun's compliance violations and shared information on this with relevant departments within the TV station. It then engaged external lawyers to conduct investigations. (Sports Hochi)

19 June 2025

Rumours of Kokubun quitting from his TV shows started circulating late in the evening and that official announcements will be made on the following day. The reason for the move was said to be due to "serious compliance violations" but at this point, nobody knew what exactly was the reason. (Sponichi Annex)

20 June 2025

- NTV's president Fukuda Hiroyuki announced on 20 June 2025 during a last-minute press conference at 1pm that the TV station had ascertained "multiple compliance violations in the past" by Kokubun thus the decision was made to take him off the variety show "The Tetsuwan DASH". 

• He had been appearing in this programme as a member of TOKIO since it started in 1995. 
• Fukuda revealed that he was informed of this matter on 27 May 2025 and that following the investigation by external lawyers, it was deemed that it would be inappropriate for Kokubun to continue appearing in the show. 
• However, despite persistent questioning by the media at the press conference, Fukuda refused to reveal details of what happened or when it happened, citing privacy concerns. 
• This attracted criticism from the media and online that the press conference did not answer any of the critical questions and was meaningless other than a display of NTV cutting off Kokubun first before his agency and company made his hiatus announcement.
• What was only ascertained during the press conference was that this matter had nothing to do with anti-social forces, involved multiple people but was not a "large-scale case".
• It was reported that an emergency board of directors meeting was called earlier in the morning to approve this decision.

- Kabushikigaisha TOKIO and STARTO ENTERTAINMENT released their statements announcing the indefinite hiatus of Kokubun:

• It had come to their attention that Kokubun Taichi had been involved in multiple incidents of compliance violations. After discussing this issue with him and as a way of taking responsibility to reflect on his actions, he will be going on an indefinite hiatus with effect from 20 June 2025.
• In the statement from Kabushikigaisha TOKIO which was signed off by the president cum TOKIO's leader Joshima Shigeru, it apologised to work associates and fans for the sudden announcement and causing them worry and inconvenience as a result. 
• As of now, they have not made any decisions on what to do in future and all queries on this matter should be directed to STARTO ENTERTAINMENT which the company has a group agent contract with because Kabushikigaisha TOKIO does not have a designated channel to handle such queries.
• Kokubun himself apologised for the concern and inconvenience caused to everyone and that his lack of self-awareness and complacency despite having worked in the entertainment industry for so many years were what led to his inadequate actions. At the moment, the period of his hiatus has not been fixed and he will take time to reflect on himself and change his ways.
• STARTO ENTERTAINMENT's statement was similar to that of Kabushikigaisha TOKIO's which mentioned Kokubun's hiatus and apologised for the sudden announcement and inconvenience caused to everyone.

The work situation of Kokubun

The following information was compiled by Sponichi Annex and FLASH:

• Co-vice president of Kabushikigaisha TOKIO and in charge of planning since April 2021
• President of TOKIO-BA, a new project under Kabushikigaisha TOKIO. Joshima Shigeru & Matsuoka Masahiro are the vice presidents for TOKIO-BA
• TOKIO entered into an agency contract with STARTO ENTERTAINMENT in April 2024
• Had 6 regular shows on TV and radio i.e. The Tetsuwan DASH (NTV), Danshi Gohan (TV Tokyo), Sekai kurabetemitara (TBS), TOKIO Terrace (Mainichi Housou), Kokubun Taichi no THE CRAFTSMEN (BS10) and Kokubun Taichi Radio Box (JFN).
• CM: Japan Net Takata Fukushima Prefecture "Fukushima Pride" - Japan Net announced on 20 June that it had taken off his CMs.
• It had been announced on 12 June that Kokubun is to host TV Tokyo's "TV Tokyo Ongakusai 2025 ~ Natsu ~" in July. 
• Kabushikigaisha TOKIO had already informed various TV stations and work partners of Kokubun's resignation from these shows.
• Despite TOKIO not doing any music-related activities in recent years following the departure of Yamaguchi Tatsuya and Nagase Tomoya in 2018 and 2021 respectively, Kokubun was still involved in making music as recently as in March this year. He was the producer (using the name Mitazono Kaoru) for the digital single "clock" by special unit Shima Shigeko & Hikaru i.e. Joshima and Inoo Kei which was the theme song for the drama "Kaseifu no Mitazono" starring Matsuoka.
• Over the past 4 years since the official LINE accounts of Kabushikigaisha TOKIO and Kokubun were set up on 10 June 2021, he had been sending daily morning greeting messages without fail through his official account between 6am and 7am to his followers which exceeds 128,000. However, the last message he sent was on 19 June and there was nothing for today i.e. 20 June which attracted speculation online prior to the hiatus announcement this afternoon.