Shuto Inomata’s contract with STARTO Entertainment has now been terminated amid allegations of assault.
The singer and member of the Japanese boy band timelesz was previously suspended by the agency after his arrest on 19 September by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Tokyo Bay Area Police Station on suspicion of assault. According to the investigation, he is suspected of assaulting a female acquaintance who was a passenger in his car in the parking lot of a convenience store in Tokyo on the night of 18 September.
The woman reportedly suffered a nosebleed and ran into a convenience store for help. Inomata, who was arrested the following morning, stated, “My hand might have hit her. We were arguing and I panicked.”
In a statement released on 1 October, STARTO said that it had found the singer to have committed “a serious violation of his exclusive contract,” which constitutes grounds for termination.
As a result, timelesz will now continue its activities with the remaining seven members.
Following the announcement, the group made a public apology in front of the media in Tokyo, stating that they would try to make their group “worth supporting” from now on.
(Photo Source: timelesz IG, Shuto Inomata IG)