A shocking scene of Japanese male and female announcers lying on the street, hugging and rolling around, has been captured on video.
Two Japanese announcers roll around on the ground. | NEWS Post Seven
On October 27, Japanese news outlet NEWS Post Seven reported that TV Asahi‘s Good! Morning announcers Kazuma Sasaki and Chiharu Mori engaged in affectionate behavior in public while intoxicated, lying on the street and hugging each other.
Chiharu Mori (left) and Kazuma Sasaki (right) | @kazuma_sasaki_/Instagram
The released video, taken in January of this year, showed that they were both so heavily intoxicated that they couldn’t properly control their bodies. In some moments, Kazuma Sasaki appeared to hug Chiharu Mori from behind while lying down.
| NEWS Post Seven | NEWS Post Seven
Chiharu Mori was seen playfully kicking Kazuma Sasaki’s buttocks.
| NEWS Post Seven
The two walked around, hugging, being affectionate, and laughing.
| NEWS Post Seven | NEWS Post Seven | NEWS Post Seven
After the video spread online, the two did not appear on the programs they were currently hosting. Kazuma Sasaki was scheduled to appear on Friday as a studio host, but his appearance was postponed due to the video. Chiharu Mori was supposed to appear on October 27 and 30 for her segments, but she also did not appear. TV Asahi and Chiharu Mori’s agency stated that due to the nature of the incident, they are refraining from appearances for the time being.
| @kazuma_sasaki_/Instagram
Regarding the video, TV Asahi admitted it was true there was inappropriate behavior between the two of them. They also stated that they would give the two announcers a period of self-reflection for the time being.
On social media, some netizens defended the two, saying that they’re just “drinking and having fun” and that “it’s not a big deal” because announcers are people, too. Some raised criticism against Chiharu Mori because she was known to have a long-term boyfriend since her university days.
| @mori.chiharu/Instagram
Kazuma Sasaki and Chiharu Mori were known to have built a friendly relationship while hosting Good! Morning together. They often played golf together and met up separately outside of work.
| @kazuma_sasaki_/Instagram
Kazuma Sasaki joined Good! Morning in 2020 and handled news reports, while Chiharu Mori was in charge of segments. Since both are popular with bright futures, people are expectant to see whether or not they will be able to appear on the program together again.
They were spooning and rolling around.