A 25-year-old member of the Takarazuka Revue died, and the bereaved family is demanding an apology and compensation from the troupe, claiming that the cause was power harassment from an upperclassman.The bereaved family and the troupe have reached an agreement. This was revealed through interviews with those involved.
*Both the bereaved family's lawyer and the opera company will hold a press conference from 4pm on the 28th to explain the details.
table of contents
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What are the 15 types of power harassment claimed by the bereaved family?
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The story so far
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Full text of the bereaved family's (sister's) complaint
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Current student: “Create an environment where you can express your concerns and opinions”
Open table of contents
table of contents
table of contents
attention
What are the 15 types of power harassment claimed by the bereaved family?
attention
The story so far
attention
Full text of the bereaved family's (sister's) complaint
attention
Current student: “Create an environment where you can express your concerns and opinions”
In September of last year, a 25-year-old member of the Takarazuka Revue's Cosmos Troupe died in Takarazuka City, Hyogo Prefecture.In November of last year, the Revue Company announced that the company had been under a strong psychological burden due to long hours of activity. Although the possibility of bullying or power harassment cannot be ruled out, the company released the contents of an investigation report that found no evidence of bullying or power harassment.
In response, the bereaved family claimed that there had been a total of 15 incidents of power harassment from executives and upperclassmen of the company, and demanded that the company apologize and compensate.
The bereaved family and the opera company have been negotiating through their agents, and interviews with people involved have revealed that both sides have reached an agreement.
Additionally, according to sources, on the 28th, Kazuo Kado, chairman of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, the parent company of Hankyu Corporation that operates the opera company, apologized directly to the bereaved family, and the upperclassmen also apologized in a letter.
Both the bereaved family's lawyer and the opera company will hold a press conference from 4pm on the 28th to explain the details.
attention
What are the 15 types of power harassment claimed by the bereaved family?
The 15 acts of power harassment claimed by the bereaved family are as follows.
1: Despite the deceased troupe member's refusal, an upperclassman curled his hair with a curling iron and caused burns on his forehead.
2: Despite the upperclassman inflicting the burns on him, he was sincere. He did not apologize
3: An upperclassman forced him to work late into the night, including redoing his hair ornaments
4: An upperclassman criticized a newcomer's performance and called him insulting to his character
5: After a weekly magazine report, A senior student summoned a deceased theater troupe member and questioned him, causing him to hyperventilate
6: A theater troupe executive announced that the fact that he was burned by a hair iron was ``absolutely unfounded''
7: A theater troupe executive revealed how much sleep he had.
8: The executives of the Cosmos Troupe, to which the deceased troupe member belonged, were forced
to work extremely long hours, with only about 3 hours a day, and made excessive demands. 9: Cosmos Troupe executives
made
even more excessive demands due to the revival of "Okoogake"
10: The director imposed duties that were impossible to handle due to negligence or deficiencies
11: Cosmos Troupe executives 12:
A Cosmos Troupe executive loudly scolded a Cosmos Troupe member in front of the Cosmos Troupe members regarding the advance disclosure of the cast list.12: A Cosmos Troupe
executive reprimanded him loudly in front of the Cosmos Troupe members regarding the advance disclosure of the cast list.13
: Cosmos Troupe executive repeated scolding such as ``The failures of the underclassmen are all your fault.''
14: A Cosmos Troupe executive shouted loudly in the executives' room and acted in a coercive manner.
15: A Cosmos Troupe executive called out to him. Regarding this, he continued to question and reprimand, and insulted me.
attention
The story so far
I have summarized the history so far.
[A troupe member died in September last year]
A 25-year-old troupe member who belonged to the Cosmos Troupe of the Takarazuka Revue was found dead in Takarazuka City, Hyogo Prefecture in September of last year (2023), seven years after joining the company. Found it.
[November 10th of last year, bereaved family held a press conference]
A lawyer for the bereaved family held a press conference and demanded an apology and compensation from the opera troupe, citing long hours of work and harassment from upperclassmen as the cause.
[Last November 14th, the Revue Company releases its investigation report]
The Takarazuka Revue has set up an investigation team led by an outside lawyer, and will proceed with the investigation by conducting interviews with members of the company, including members of the Cosmos Troupe.
At a press conference last November, they announced the contents of the investigation report, which stated that while no bullying or power harassment was confirmed, the possibility of strong psychological stress due to long hours of activity cannot be denied. .
At the press conference, then-Chairman Kiba said, ``We should have done more to manage things like health.I deeply regret that we did not fully fulfill our duty of care for safety.''He announced his resignation as Chairman on December 1 of last year. I resigned.
[The bereaved family submits a written opinion]
In response, the bereaved family will submit a written opinion to the opera troupe pointing out the problems in the investigation report, stating that ``it is impossible for an agreed resolution to be reached if power harassment remains denied.''
[Last December 7th, the bereaved family releases ``evidence'' of power harassment]
At a press conference last December, the bereaved family's lawyer said:
▼ Photos that show burn marks caused by a theater troupe member having a curling iron pressed against his forehead,
▼ He disclosed his LINE conversations with his family, and
stated that there were a total of 15 cases of acts of power harassment, and once again called on the opera company to acknowledge such acts and provide an apology and compensation. I made it clear.
[The bereaved family and the opera company are negotiating to reach an agreement]
Under these circumstances, the bereaved family's lawyer and the opera company's representative have held numerous meetings and have been proceeding with discussions toward an agreed resolution.
According to a lawyer for the bereaved family, the opera troupe stated in a letter dated January 24th that many of the 15 cases claimed by the bereaved family constituted power harassment and caused a great psychological burden on the troupe members. It means that it has been recognized.
However, the Opera Company has not so far made clear what specific acts it considers to be power harassment.
[Both sides have some disagreements]
The bereaved family had some disagreements with the opera company regarding how to make the announcement public if an agreement is reached, and they had said they would hold another meeting in March.
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Full text of the bereaved family's (sister's) complaint
In February, a lawyer for the bereaved family released a ``complaint'' written by the sister of the deceased theater troupe member, expressing her feelings. Below is the full text.
I would like to express my thoughts as a bereaved family member and as someone who is currently a member of the Takarazuka Revue for my precious sister. No matter how much you try to replace it with the word guidance, it is an act that cannot be replaced. That is power harassment. Members of the troupe have signed a pledge created by the Takarazuka Revue stating that they will never engage in power harassment. Despite this, the Takarazuka Revue is a world where people who engage in power harassment on a daily basis are commonplace. From my point of view, having worked in that world until now, the power harassment my sister suffered is a vicious and extremely cruel act that cannot be compared to that level. If you look at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's definition of power harassment, what my sister experienced is nothing more than power harassment. Takarazuka is not an extraterritorial place. Because it's Takarazuka, there's nothing that can be tolerated. I am not satisfied with the fact that even to this day, the theater company is still only listening to the side of the person who committed power harassment and ignoring the testimony of third parties. The theater company is defending the person who committed the power harassment, using the protection of the students as its main reason, but if that is the case, then the people who testified about the power harassment they witnessed and my sister are not the same students. Is it? In the first place, the word "student" is ambiguous, but the person who committed power harassment is a legitimate member of society, and the Takarazuka Revue is a company. As a company, we should face the facts from a fair standpoint. They have announced that they are working on schedule reforms and various improvement measures, but I can only think that they are making light of my sister's death and obfuscating the issue. Please don't make my sister and the rest of our family suffer any more. My sister is not unwell and she is not hospitalized. She will never come back. What does she think about the weight of her sister's life? Although the theater company appeals to the public by repeating the words "sincerely" and "sincerely," I don't think they are actually responding to the bereaved families with sincerity. Please don't waste any more time. Please face your precious sister's life.
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Current student: “Create an environment where you can express your concerns and opinions”
Regarding this issue, a current member of the Takarazuka Revue was interviewed by NHK and appealed, ``I want the troupe to create an environment where each member of the troupe can express their concerns and opinions clearly.'' .
In an investigation report released by the Takarazuka Revue last November, issues that need to be addressed in response to this problem include voluntary rehearsals held by troupe members before and after official rehearsals, and concerns about overcrowding. It is pointed out that the schedule was creating an overall lack of leeway.
According to a female current member of the theater company who was interviewed this time, independent rehearsals were held almost every day as the performance approached, and on some days it could last more than 10 hours until midnight. is.
The woman said, ``There is an unspoken rule in the opera company that you must come to rehearsals even if you are not feeling well, and I fell into the same mindset when it came to voluntary rehearsals. I can't take time off just because I don't want to go, so I think it's actually 'forced practice.'
It is said that there were times when upperclassmen provided strict guidance to lowerclassmen, even though they did not have the time or space to practice independently.
Regarding this, the woman revealed that she had coached junior students in a hurtful way, and said, ``I have had my seniors do the same thing, so juniors should also experience it and overcome it.'' I had the illusion that it was something strange.Even though it was actually wrong, I turned a blind eye to it, and I think that this has continued as a 'tradition'.''
In response to this issue, the opera company is reviewing its overcrowded performance schedule and working to improve its organizational culture in order to reduce the burden on troupe members.From January this year, it will take measures such as reducing the number of performances per week. We are implementing concrete measures.
Regarding these efforts, a woman said, ``It may make things a little easier physically, but unless we can create a system to make improvements based on the SOS of theater company members who are struggling with daily rehearsals, hierarchical relationships, etc.'' I don't think a tragedy like this could happen."
He added, ``In our daily activities as members of a theater company, we sometimes feel like we are being treated like robots, but we are all human beings. I also want to create an environment where each member of the theater company can express their concerns and opinions clearly.''