Japanese musical theater Takarazuka Revue is planning to apologize to the bereaved family of a member who suddenly died last September after alleged power harassment, it was learned Wednesday.
The Takarazuka Revue is in talks with the family on a final agreement for it to admit to and apologize for the harassment against the deceased by senior members of the all-female musical theater based in the city of Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, according to informed sources.
Kazuo Sumi, chairman of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, the parent of Takarazuka Revue operator Hankyu, a railway company, and senior members of the theater have expressed their readiness to apologize to the bereaved family, the sources said.
Takarazuka Revue released a report last November stating that it had confirmed no cases of the member of its Cosmos Troupe being harassed by senior members, while admitting that the theater failed to fulfill its obligation to ensure the safety of the member, who was suffering “strong mental stress” from long hours of instruction and practice.
The bereaved family countered by saying that the member was subject to power harassment by senior members and demanded an apology and compensation from the Takarazuka Revue.
The theater admitted to the power harassment in talks with the family in January this year. The two sides have been at odds, however, over specifics of the acts of harassment, with a lawyer for the family complaining at a news conference in February that Takarazuka Revue has “a strong tendency to accept without question the explanations of senior members.”