Member of Japan pop band Tokio quits after forcing kiss on schoolgirl at his home

Tatsuya Yamaguchi of Japan’s star pop group Tokio, who acknowledged last week he had sexually harassed a teenage girl, said he was quitting the band.

The other four members appeared in a news conference Wednesday that was broadcast live on national television, making the Tokio scandal one of the most high-profile #MeToo cases riveting Japan in recent weeks.

Tokio leader Shigeru Joshima said Yamaguchi apologised to the other members, getting on his knees in repentance, and quit Monday night, but there was no immediate decision whether to accept it.

The group won’t disband and the other members will continue with any work offered, seeing it as their duty “as professionals,” Joshima and the others said.

“We have a responsibility first as Tokio,” Joshima said, after bowing deeply with the other members. Dressed in dark suits and ties, they appeared solemn and tense before flashing cameras at a packed Tokyo hotel room.

Joshima said the group decided to apologise publicly to the victim and her family, the fans and other people who were shocked and hurt by the scandal.