Komuro Back On Stage

Disgraced J-pop producer Tetsuya Komuro made his first live appearance since receiving a suspended prison sentence for copyright fraud last May.

The appearance was at an a-nation concert to promote artists on Avex, Japan’s biggest independent label, which Komuro single-handedly brought to prominence in the 1990s.

The concert took place at the Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo suburb Chofu Aug. 22.

Komuro took the stage unannounced a little after 6 p.m. and played instrumental versions of several of his hits solo on a grand piano.

It took about a minute for the 50,000 people in the audience to realize who the mystery piano-player was, and after the five-minute performance they gave Komuro a standing ovation.

He thanked the audience in a tearful, quiet voice for their continuing support and apologized for his past failures of judgment.

Then his wife Keiko and bassist Marc Panther, who with Komuro make up the group Globe, performed several songs.
Komuro also performed with his old group TRF.