After speaking out about an alleged assault by two male “idol fans” that happened in her home last year, NGT48 idol member Maho Yamaguchi made a public apology, taking a deep bow, during one of their performances last week. She also apologized for accusing her fellow NGT48 group members of leaking her personal information to fans and for her voicing of the issue, which was “causing trouble” for both parties.
Maho Yamaguchi should not have to apologize for getting assaulted.
I accept this apology as in not burning more bridges to keep getting jobs, but never ever should this be an apology for the attacker, the management or the leaker. pic.twitter.com/zGu9Duclos
— Mimiko ♥ (@mimiko_kupo) January 10, 2019
Local news said that the incident happened on the 8th of December last year when she entered her flat. The two men allegedly grabbed her by the face. She screamed in fear but the two suspects covered her mouth to silence her. The men were both confirmed to be 25-year old students, who were arrested by authorities for assault, but then later released without any charges. The men’s testimony said that they “only wanted to talk to Yamaguchi and didn’t think it would be a big deal.”
Maho Yamaguchi wasn’t able to express her thoughts about the incident until earlier this month when she posted a live streaming video about what happened in detail. In one of her Twitter posts, she said that “I wanted to speak out sooner but [management] said they would take care of everything, so I waited this whole month while in fear. However, there were no results. The people who did the evil deed are all just as they were.”
まほほん号泣配信 2/2 BANされるまで pic.twitter.com/kJQopW16j3
— (/ω＼) (@korokoromilky) January 8, 2019
NGT48‘s management has officially denied that another member of the group leaked personal information of Yamaguchi to the alleged attackers.
Sources: Daily Mail, ANN, NHK News Web, Hachima Kiko
