Mai Endo, of J-Pop group Idoling, recently shared her sexual harassment story. She posted the touching tale on her personal social media account. It highlighted the dark side of the entertainment industry.
The J-Pop industry is facing a “Me Too” movement of late. Mai shared her story in order to show support for the other victims.
People have been asking why I’m not lending my voice when I have experienced sexual assault before. So, I’m writing down what I experienced. I had been invited to an after party by some people that I trusted. There was nothing to be suspicious of, so I went. On my way home, someone who was also in the industry was drunk, and pushed me into a taxi. I knew everyone present then, so I could not reject it or physically protest, and got into the taxi. He touched my body forcibly in the taxi while asking me if I knew how much he liked me. He told me he would take me home, but I got off the cab immediately. I was in shock, and called my boyfriend, but he scolded me for giving the perpetrator a chance to do that to me. I was in despair, thinking that I was unable to get through to him. I don’t know if I could’ve blown things up by reporting him, but I did not want to be reminded of the perpetrator, and kept it mum from from everyone else apart from my manager. I asked my manager to make it so that I would not have to work with the perpetrator from then on. I tried hard to erase him from my memory.
— Mai Endo
Mai concluded that although she had not been sexually assaulted, she washed her body for so long that she began bleeding. She believes that she gained courage to tell her story following the many victims who have made reports.
