Japanese idol group timelesz held a press conference on October 1, 2026, to apologize to fans after its talent agency, STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, terminated its exclusive contract with former member Shuto Inomata. All seven remaining members — Fuma Kikuchi, Shori Sato, Sho Matsushima, Takuto Teranishi, Yoshitaka Hara, Shoki Hashimoto, and Daiki Shinozuka — bowed deeply to apologize, with some members visibly in tears.
Inomata was arrested on September 19 on suspicion of assault causing injury to an acquaintance woman, and was released on September 25 without formal charges being filed. STARTO ENTERTAINMENT announced on October 1 that it had terminated his exclusive contract effective September 30, citing a “serious breach of the exclusive contract.” The agency said the decision was made independently of any criminal proceedings and stressed it was a company management decision, adding that it was not placing responsibility for the incident on the remaining seven members.
timelesz will continue activities as a seven-member group going forward.
At the press conference, Kikuchi said he could not believe the news when he first heard of the arrest, but that his feelings shifted to anger and frustration as more details emerged. “Before being an idol, as a person, raising a hand against someone — especially a woman — is an act that can never be forgiven,” he said. He added that he was particularly angered by a reported account suggesting the contact was accidental, saying the explanation that “a hand happened to make contact” only deepened his frustration.
Reaction on X leaned heavily sympathetic toward the remaining members, with posts saying things like “the other seven are victims too,” “it’s painful to watch members who did nothing wrong have to apologize,” and “I feel for timelesz.”
Who is timelesz?
timelesz is a Japanese idol group formerly known as Sexy Zone, which rebranded under its current name in 2023 following the departure of a member. The group is managed by STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, the agency that succeeded the talent powerhouse formerly known as Johnny’s & Associates. Fuma Kikuchi, who spoke at length during the conference, is one of the group’s longest-standing members and has also built a career as an actor and television personality. Shuto Inomata had joined timelesz as an additional member following a reality audition format before his contract was terminated this week.
Author’s Comment
Watching seven young men line up and bow for something a colleague is accused of doing is exactly the kind of collective punishment idol culture still can’t shake off. The agency went out of its way to say the remaining seven aren’t responsible for any of this — and then put them in front of every camera in the country to apologize anyway. That’s not accountability, that’s optics management. I get why fans online are furious on the members’ behalf; the whole system asks idols to act as moral guarantors for people they didn’t choose and can’t control. If the agency genuinely believes this wasn’t the group’s fault, the next move should be obvious: stop making them say sorry for it.
