Foreign fan arrested after hugging Haruna Kojima in Shibuya

On any other day, the only thing notable and newsworthy about Haruna Kojima’s meet-and-greet event in Shibuya last night to promote her new photo book would have been the appearance of fellow AKB48 alum Minami Takahashi, who turned up to get a copy of the book and say hello to Kojiharu (and perhaps get away from her smelly husband).

The former music idol and model, who still looks stunning at age 36 and is now a successful fashion entrepreneur, met with fans eager to get their hands on her newly released latest photo book — her first in nine years.

One fan, though, was eager to get his hands on the unmarried Haruna herself, who was wearing an elegant and revealing pink dress for the occasion. The foreign male wasn’t satisfied with just a handshake and tried to hug the model, sending them both crashing to the ground. Some reports seem to suggest the fan shoved her.

He was arrested at the scene, though we’re not sure if any charges will be brought that could hold up in court (Japanese prosecutors typically only pursue cases they are fully confident of winning). Kojiharu was not injured, though we expect she was more than a little ruffled (remember, two idols from AKB48 were once attacked by a crazed fan with a saw at a meet-and-greet event 10 years ago). She has since announced that the event scheduled for today, October 29, is canceled.

The man is apparently in his forties and understood to be a Kojiharu fan, but his nationality has not been disclosed yet. (Update: further media reports have said that the man is a student from Taiwan, who was known to Kojima’s company. It previously consulted with police in August about an “extreme fan” who was causing trouble at an event.)

The incident happened on the street in central Shibuya at around 9 p.m., according to media reports, shortly after the meet-and-greet event was over and Kojima was leaving.