Nippon Television Network on Friday announced its decision to remove Taichi Kokubun, a member of male pop group Tokio, from "The Tetsuwan Dash," its popular variety show, as he has been found to have committed compliance violations.
Kokubun, 50, has accepted the decision, which was made based on the results of an investigation conducted by external lawyers over the compliance violations, according to the major Japanese broadcaster. Nippon TV will continue to broadcast the program.
The firm and its parent, Nippon Television Holdings, decided on Kokubun's removal at their extraordinary board meetings the same day.
Nippon TV President Hiroyuki Fukuda held a news conference on the matter later in the day, but he refrained from mentioning specifics about Kokubun's problematic acts out of concern for "privacy protection."
"The Tetsuwan Dash" began airing in 1995, featuring Tokio members.
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