Member of Japan pop group investigated in sex case

Tokyo — A member of the popular Japanese all-male pop group Tokio has acknowledged he is facing a criminal investigation related to an allegedly indecent act with a teenage girl.

The 46-year-old Tatsuya Yamaguchi apologised on Thursday and said he would suspend work with his band and other entertainment projects.

SEE A VIDEO OF THE BAND PERFORMING HERE:

The organisers of Tokyo's 2020 Olympics say Yamaguchi and other members of the group are working as "special ambassadors" on an Olympic and Paralympic Flag Tour project.

The Organising Committee and the Tokyo metropolitan government are co-sponsors.

In the last few weeks, a top Finance Ministry bureaucrat has resigned over sexually suggestive remarks to a female reporter, and the governor of Niigata prefecture stepped down after acknowledging he gave cash and gifts to women he dated.