TOKYO — Disgraced fashion model Jun Komori, 27, appeared on TBS television on Sunday and tearfully apologized for accepting payments from shady auction sites in exchange for lying about successful transactions.
The sites, such as Penny Auction, which were subsequently alleged to have carried out unethical practices such as artificially inflating prices by placing bids from fictional customers, were also tainted in the scandal.
Komori, one of several public figures involved in the widely-reported incident, apologized online and subsequently closed down her blog. Sports Nippon reported Monday that on TV, Komori made a tearful apology for her actions in what some commentators saw as an attempt to secure her position in the showbiz world.
When asked what she thought of the reports that her career in the public eye had been jeopardized by the incident, Komori replied that she believed deleting her blog had been a sign of contrition, but that she later realized it had not been sufficient.
In response to the broadcast, cosmetic surgeon-turned TV “talent” Ayako Nishikawa, 41, said, “I don’t understand how she has the nerve to appear on TV and I don’t want to see her face.”
Japan Today
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