Regarding the death of a 25-year-old member of the Takarazuka Revue, Kazuo Kaku, chairman of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, the parent company of Hankyu Corporation that operates the troupe, is making final arrangements to resign as director of the troupe. We learned through interviews with those involved that progress is being made.
Last September, a 25-year-old member of the Takarazuka Revue's Cosmos Troupe was found dead in Takarazuka City, Hyogo Prefecture.
Last November, the Opera Company released an investigation report that stated that while it cannot be ruled out that the employees may have been under strong psychological stress due to long hours of activity, there was no evidence of bullying or power harassment. A lawyer representing the bereaved family claims that there was power harassment from upperclassmen, and discussions are ongoing between the two parties.
Under these circumstances, interviews with related parties revealed that Kazuo Kado, chairman of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, the parent company of Hankyu Corporation that operates the opera company, is making final arrangements to step down as director of the opera company.
The board of directors is made up of 10 people, including executives and directors from the opera troupe, and decides on management policies, etc., and Mr. Kado has served as a director for 10 years since March 2014.
Last December, Mr. Kaku resigned as chairman of the Takarazuka Music School, which trains theater troupe members, and is expected to retire as the school's director soon.
The opera company plans to admit to the bereaved families that there were problems with the organization's management system, and Mr. Kaku intends to take responsibility for the problems.
As a result of this, Mr. Kado will be stepping down from the management of the opera troupe, but it is expected that he will continue to be involved in dealing with his bereaved family and improving the organizational culture of the troupe.