Photo/Illutration Comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Despite its previous denial, talent agency Yoshimoto Kogyo Co. has changed course and launched an internal investigation into sexual assault allegations against star comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto.

“Given articles stating that multiple women have endured mental distress at gatherings attended, although privately, by our comedians, we recognize it is a serious issue we must sincerely address,” the agency said in a statement issued on Jan. 24.

The major entertainment company is interviewing Matsumoto and other relevant individuals with the assistance of outside lawyers.

The Shukan Bunshun published an article last month in which two women accuse Matsumoto and his associates of sexually assaulting them in a Tokyo hotel room in 2015.

The weekly magazine has since released a series of reports alleging that Matsumoto sexually abused other women.

Matsumoto, 60, a member of the popular comedy duo Downtown, has suspended his career since the scandal broke, citing the need to focus on a legal battle against the magazine’s publisher.

Yoshimoto Kogyo said its governance committee, including outside experts, met on Jan. 23.

At the meeting, committee members said the company must thoroughly investigate the facts and fulfill its corporate responsibility to explain the situation.

The governance committee also criticized Yoshimoto Kogyo’s immediate response to the Shukan Bunshun reports.

“The company’s initial statement that ‘there are no such facts at all’ caused misunderstanding and confusion, as it was unclear what the statement was exactly referring to,” committee members said.

Yoshimoto Kogyo told The Asahi Shimbun that the company hasn’t decided whether or when to release the outcome of the internal probe, given an ongoing defamation lawsuit filed by Matsumoto against the Shukan Bunshun’s publisher.

“(Releasing the outcome) depends on how the lawsuit develops,” said Yoshimoto Kogyo.

The company hasn’t set a deadline for the internal investigation, either.

It has also declined The Asahi Shimbun’s request to hold a news conference on the matter.

“We do not currently have plans to hold a news conference as we are still in the process of confirming the facts and since the case is currently being litigated,” said a representative of the company.

(This article was written by Bunna Takizawa and Yusuke Miyata.)

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