Original AKB48 member was in Shibuya for book launch event.

In 2005, Haruna Kojima became one of the inaugural members of AKB48, the Akihabara-based multi-vocalist unit that would go on to dominate the Japanese idol singer scene for the next several years. While AKB48 operated under a policy of regularly cycling out less popular performers and replacing them with fresh faces, Kojima remained a member for over a decade before “graduating” from the group (to use the idol industry’s preferred parlance) in 2017.

Kojima may no longer perform on stage, but that doesn’t mean she’s completely out of the spotlight. Since leaving AKB48, the 36-year-old has worked as a fashion model and started her own fashion/lifestyle brand, called “Her lip to.” As proof of Kojima’s enduring popularity, on Friday her first photo album in nine years, titled Kamoshirenai, went on sale, and she attended a promotional launch event at the famous Shibuya Tsutaya building in downtown Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood.

▼ Cover of Kamoshirenai

However, what should have been a happy night for Kojima took a frightening turn after the event’s scheduled program wrapped up. After leaving the building shortly after 9 p.m., Kojima was on the street, walking toward a car that was waiting to take her home, when a man suddenly approached her and grabbed her from behind. Maintaining his grip on her, the man then forced Kojima to the ground before event staff could restrain him and call the police, who arrived and arrested the man on the scene.

The man, who is in his 40s, is a foreign national, though it hasn’t been disclosed whether he’s a tourist in Japan or a foreign resident of the country. Investigators believe that he is a fan who knew Kojima was attending an event in the building and was lying in wait for her to exit the venue. In his post-arrest statement, he admitted “There is no mistake that I grabbed her arm,” though it’s unclear whether or not he’s admitted to purposely forcing Kojima to the pavement, as he added “I held her, but I had no violent intentions.”

Nojima did not suffer any injuries in the incident, and was remarkably chipper in a Twitter post (seen directly above) that she sent later that night saying:

“Today was the event for my photo book. It was fun seeing so many faces that that I haven’t seen for a long time! I was surprised to see both veteran otaku and new fans cheering for me. Thank you for coming!”

Kojima’s unfazed cheerfulness notwithstanding, it’d probably be a good idea for both her talent agency and Shibuya Tsutaya to revise their security protocols.

Source: Nitele News via Jin, Jiji, TBS News Dig, Nikkan Sports, YouTube/ANNnewsCH
Top image: Pakutaso
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