TOKIO's Taichi Kokubun getting married

TOKIO member Kokubun Taichi will be getting married.

According to sources, letters announcing his upcoming marriage have been sent out to members of 'Johnny's Family Club'. In the letter, Kokubun wrote, "At this time, I, Kokubun Taichi, will be getting married."


Kokubun has been with TOKIO since their CD debut with "LOVE YOU ONLY" in 1994. He is the band's keyboardist. He is the second member following Yamaguchi Tatsuya to get married.


Source: Nikkan Sports

^ And so it follows:

TOKIO's Taichi Kokubun soon to be a father

TOKIO's Kokubun Taichi announced during the 17th June broadcast of TBS morning programme "Hakunetsu Live Vivit" that he will be a father soon. At the end of the show, Kokubun revealed that he is about to be a father by the end of October which was greeted with applause from his co-host Maya Miki and guests. Kokubun commented that although he had hoped for twin girls, he has found out that it won't be the case this time but he still does not know the gender of the baby yet.

When asked about being a father soon, Kokubun admitted that it was quite conflicting for him. Even though he has always wanted children, the feeling of impending father hasn't sunk in yet. In response, one of the guests Hiromi said that it takes time for men to accept the fact that the baby is on the way but it will happen naturally overtime. Kokubun's junior NEWS' Kato Shigeaki suggested that if it's a baby boy, he can join Johnny's in future while other guests suggested that if it's a girl, she can join Takarazuka when she grows up. This led Kokubun to express surprise at the suggestion and he said that he should probably start thinking about it now.

After the end of the programme, Kokubun also sent a fax statement to the media where he said that his wife is already 6 months' pregnant and is due to give birth in the end of October. He was surprised at first when told of the news but is now eagerly awaiting the arrival of the child. He pledged to work harder in his career and asked for the warm support of everyone around him.

Kokubun got married to a former employee of TBS in September last year and this will be their first child.

Source: Nikkansports

One gets married and another one gets divorced.

TOKIO's Tatsuya Yamaguchi announces divorce

TOKIO's Yamaguchi Tatsuya announced through a fax statement released by his agency that he and his wife have divorced.

Yamaguchi and his ex-wife who is 5 years younger than him and used to be model, met in October 1999 during a friend's steamboat party and dated for 8 years before getting married on 8 March 2008. On the same night during a TOKIO concert at Nippon Budokan, Yamaguchi dropped a bombshell by announcing his marriage and his wife's pregnancy to the 13,000 fans there. Their elder son was born in May the same year while their second son was born in September 2010. Yamaguchi was the first TOKIO member to get married and ironically, also the first to get divorced.

Sources: Nikkansports / Yomiuri Hochi / Sponichi

TOKIO named special ambassadors for Tokyo 2020 Olympics/Paralympics flag tour

TOKIO has been named the special ambassadors for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics / Paralympics Flag Tour as announced by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on 21 September. The band took part in the kick-off event held on the same day to mark the start of the flag tour which will begin from the three prefectures hit by the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis i.e. Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima before touring 62 wards, cities and towns within Tokyo. The ambassadors are tasked to take part in various events such as presenting the flags to the mayors and chiefs of the wards, cities and towns. This is the first time that TOKIO is participating in an Olympic-related project.

TOKIO's leader Joshima Shigeru commented that they are very honoured to be given this wonderful task. Meanwhile, Yamaguchi Tatsuya who had been to the Rio Olympics earlier this year for reporting said that he is already very excited about the passion and lively atmosphere he saw in Brazil that will come to Tokyo in 2020. Nagase Tomoya commented that he had always wanted to see the Olympics in Tokyo and is glad that his dream can come true in 2020. As for Kokubun Taichi, he hopes that the Tokyo Olympics will become one which everyone can reflect on as a wonderful event while Matsuoka Masahiro said that he hopes that the athletes who have been working hard all this time will be able to take part in the Tokyo Olympics without any regrets. Nagase also commented that although the five of them have an average age of 41 years old and are not that good in sports, they have confidence in livening up the atmosphere for this flag tour.

Coincidentally, the naming ceremony was held on the same day of TOKIO's debut 22 years ago in 1994. Joshima revealed that they had done a toast with fruit juice in the resting room earlier and were marveling about how coincidental it was to have the ceremony take place on the same day of their debut.

Besides TOKIO, the governor of Tokyo Koike Yuriko, Olympic athletes Miyake Yoshinobu (weightlifting), Kotani Mikako (synchronised swimming), Matsuda Takeshi (swimming), Miyake Hiromi (weightlifting), Yoshimura Maharu (table tennis), Arai Hirooki (athletics), Paralympic athletes Taguchi Aki (shooting), Negi Shinji (wheelchair basketball), Sato Keiichi (triathlon), Seryu Monica (canoeing), Hangai Shizuka (judo), Masaki Kento (judo) and next-generation athletes Mukae Ayaka (fencing) and Toyoda Mamiko (para-badminton) also attended the ceremony.

Sources: Sanspo / Oricon

TOKIO's new single to released in November

TOKIO's new single "Ai! wanna be with you, , ," is scheduled to be released November 30.

The song has been picked up as the theme song for member Masahiro Matsuoka's drama "Kasiefu no Mitazono" premiering on October 21.

The Limited Edition will come with a DVD containing the title track's PV and making-of footage. The regular edition will include another song written by Tomoyo Nagase and a talk titled "TOKIO STATION - Radio Version" in which the band members answer questions from their fans. Fans can submit questions via J-Storm's official website (http://www.j-storm.co.jp/) until October 30.

Ai! wanna be with you, , ,

Limited Edition

CD

01. Ai! wanna be with you, , ,
02. Ai! wanna be with you, , , (backing track)

DVD

- Ai! wanna be with you, , , (Video clip and making of)

Regular Edition

CD

01. Ai! wanna be with you, , ,
02. Untitled
03. Ai! wanna be with you, , , (backing track)
04. Untitled (backing track)
05. TOKIO STATION - Radio version -

Source: natalie

gaijinmark wrote:

TOKIO's Taichi Kokubun soon to be a father

And it's a girl!

Taichi Kokubun welcomes the arrival of his first daughter

TOKIO's Kokubun Taichi announced the arrival of his first daughter during the live broadcast of his TBS morning programme "Live Vivit" on 1 November. He revealed that his daughter who is a Scorpio, was born yesterday at 2.31pm and weighed 3,176 grams at birth. Kokubun commented that he went straight to the hospital after the live broadcast of "Vivit" and managed to witness the birth of his daughter. Although he and his wife have not decided on the name of the baby, they hope to be able to grow together with her and learn various things through raising her.

Kokubun also thanked the staff of "Vivit" for making a special arrangement in the TV listing of the programme published in the newspapers which contained the hidden message of "Taichi has become a father" when read from top down.

After the broadcast, Kokubun released a fax statement about the birth of his daughter and asked for everyone's warm support for him and his family going forward.

Sources: Nikkansports 1 / Nikkansports 2

TOKIO to sing theme song for TBS 2017 Summer drama "Wanitokagegisu"

TOKIO will be singing the theme song for new TBS Summer 2017 drama "Wanitokagegisu" starring Arita Teppei and Honda Tsubasa which will begin its run from 19 July in the Wednesdays 11.56pm timeslot. The drama is based on the same-titled manga by Furuya Minoru which was serialised in "Young Magazine" between 2006 and 2007.

The theme song titled "Kumo" will be TOKIO's 53rd single and was written by Nagase after they received the offer to sing the theme song and he read the original manga. The producer Tawada Yutaka said that the pure love story between Tomioka and Hada brings to mind TOKIO's debut single "LOVE YOU ONLY" so he decided to approach the band to write and sing the theme song for the drama.

Source: Sponichi

TOKIO's Tatsuya Yamaguchi charged with sexual assault

TOKIO's Tatsuya Yamaguchi has been charged with suspicion of sexual assault.

Reportedly, the incident happened back in February when Yamaguchi called a high school girl to his apartment and forcefully kissed her. According to FNN, the two met through an NHK program.

In a statement, Johnny's Entertainment said, "We are terribly sorry that he kissed the victim while under the influence without thinking of her feelings. We have apologized to the victim in all sincerity and have reached an amicable settlement."

Due to this, programs starring Yamaguchi have been cancelled, including Fuji TV's 'TOKIO Kakeru' and E-Tele's 'R no Housoku'.

Source: Oricon

But wait, there's more:

TOKIO's Tatsuya Yamaguchi to go on hiatus, placed on house arrest

TOKIO's Tatsuya Yamaguchi will be going on hiatus and has been placed on house arrest for an indefinite period.

Yamaguchi was under investigation for sexual assault after committing sexual acts against a high school girl in February. Yamaguchi held a press conference on April 26th where he talked about details of the incident and apologized for his actions.

At the beginning of the press conference, Johnny's & Associates' consulting lawyer described the incident. He explained that on February 12th Yamaguchi was drinking at home when he called the victim and her friend over and committed sexual acts. After receiving a report from the victim, police opened an investigation in late March.

Source: Oricon

And it continues:

TOKIO holds press conference regarding Tatsuya Yamaguchi incident

On May 2nd, TOKIO members Shigeru Joshima, Masahiro Matsuoka, Tomoya Nagase, and Taichi Kokubun held a press conference regarding the recent incident involving fellow member Tatsuya Yamaguchi.

Shigeru said the five members met on April 30th. During the meeting Yamaguchi got down on his hands and knees and submitted a letter of resignation. Joshima explained that he wasn't able to accept the letter. Rather than dealing with Yamaguchi the members felt it was more important to hold a press conference. "Some people will say we are being too lenient, but we want to accept it together." he said.

Nagase said, "My heart aches that the victim had pure feelings. I hope no one will attack or point a finger at the victim." Kokubun said, "In a normal situation, we should have accepted the resignation. However, we haven't had a chance to cool down yet. Even if we did accept the resignation, that doesn't mean we are abandoning Yamaguchi."

When asked about TOKIO's future activities, Nagase responded, "Without his contribution, we wouldn't have our music. Right now, we are in that situation so the four of us will talk about what's to come." Kobkubun added, "Since last year we've been discussing our 25th anniversary debut next year in 2019. Now we are back to square one and have quit thinking about making music. We want to face whatever we can face." Matsuoka apologized to the fans, "Our fans' voice has reached us. That's why since last year we have been thinking about what would make everyone happy for our 25th anniversary. We are very sorry."

Source: natalie

But wait, there's more (part II):

Johnny & Associates cancels contract with Tatsuya Yamaguchi

Johnny & Associates has officially cancelled its contract with TOKIO's Tatsuya Yamaguchi.

In a fax titled Notification of annulment of contract with Tatsuya Yamaguchi they wrote "In dealing with Tatsuya Yamaguchi, on May 2nd during the press conference with the other four members of TOKIO, there was an explanation of his decision to resign. Again, today on May 6th, he expressed his strong intention to resign to our company directly. Our company president and TOKIO leader Shigeru Joshima met today and decided to accept his request."

Source: Oricon

And leading off the news in Japan today, not the new Prime Minister, not the pandemic, a show business person got caught drunk driving: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200922/p2a/00m/0na/007000c