Japanese Girl Group Charged By Police Just Before Debut Due To Unauthorised Street Performance

All their activities, including the launch of their album, has been suspended indefinitely.

Even before Japanese idol girl group CiON can make its official debut, it has been forced to suspend activities indefinitely after the quintet was charged for holding a street performance in Tokyo without the necessary permits.

The group, which was set to release their debut album soon, announced this week that they will suspend all activities immediately and cancel their planned album release.

According to Tokyo police, a female idol group performed at a plaza at Shinjuku Station’s southeast exit in May without prior authorisation, thereby violating road usage regulations.

Although street performances outside the station’s exit are common, some areas are regulated and require prior authorisation, including the plaza.

While the police did not disclose the group’s name, online sources identified them as CiON, a new girl band under major Japanese music company Avex.

CiON later released a statement confirming they are the group involved and has apologised for their actions and to those affected by the incident.

The police have filed charges against 10 people including the band members and their company’s president.

The group isn’t exactly new.

The band had been performing as C;ON for eight years. It recently rebranded themselves as CiON on October 1, following feedback that their previous name was “hard to search for on X”.

Guess they are definitely searchable now.

Photo: CiON/X