Photo/Illutration Teruyuki Kagawa, actor and the editor-in-chief of the Toyota Times (The Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Following a sexual harassment scandal involving Japanese actor Teruyuki Kagawa, Toyota Motor Corp. said it will not renew his contract after it expires at the end of the year.

Commercials featuring the actor have already been suspended.

The weekly magazine Shukan Shincho reported that Kagawa, 56, inappropriately touched the body of a hostess at a club in Tokyo's Ginza district in 2019.

Jun Nagata, Toyota’s operating officer, said on Sept. 1, “We are receiving harsh reactions from the public and his actions are completely unacceptable.” 

Toyota previously commented that “his act was socially unforgivable, and we strongly regret that it happened.”

Kagawa, who is also a famed Kabuki actor, serves as editor-in-chief of the Toyota Times, the company’s media branch launched in 2019. It provides information about the company along with commercials.

Kagawa was the face of Toyota’s public relations. As the editor-in-chief, he interviewed Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota, and visited motor shows and other events.

Kagawa apologized for his actions on his agency’s website on Aug. 25.

On Aug. 26, the veteran actor apologized at the opening of “The Time,” a morning information program on Tokyo Broadcasting System Television Inc. (TBS), which he regularly hosts on Fridays.

“I’m deeply sorry for the inconvenience, worry and heartache that I have caused you all with my personal affairs mentioned in the weekly magazine reports,” Kagawa said.

On Sept. 1, TBS also said it will terminate the actor’s appearance on the TV program.

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