Several television and radio programs featuring Japanese actor Nijiro Murakami have reportedly been suspended after Japanese authorities referred a case involving alleged assault of his former girlfriend to prosecutors.
The actor, who gained international recognition for his role in Alice in Borderland, has come under intense public scrutiny following reports that he is facing allegations of physically assaulting a former partner.
According to Japanese media reports, Murakami is accused of grabbing his former girlfriend by the hair, pushing her head into a window, and striking her in the face while the two were living together. The alleged victim reportedly suffered injuries that required more than a month to recover. Local reports also stated that Murakami acknowledged causing the injuries during the investigation.
As backlash continued to grow, multiple projects involving the 29-year-old actor were affected.
Japanese outlet Yahoo! News reported on July 3 that TV Tokyo postponed the premiere of Strange – Itō Junji no Yoru mo Nemurenu Kimyō na Hanashi, a drama in which Murakami stars. The series had originally been scheduled to debut on July 3, but the broadcaster has delayed the broadcast indefinitely. Murakami’s name has also reportedly been removed from the network’s official programming schedule.
His radio program, Mosaku Radio: Nijiro Murakami, has also been discontinued. The show’s official website announced that the final broadcast had already aired on June 25 and confirmed that new memberships and automatic subscription payments would no longer be accepted. The production team also issued an apology to listeners for the sudden decision.
In addition, esports organization UNLIMIT, where Murakami served as brand director, announced that it would end its partnership with the actor. The organization stated that, after considering the seriousness of the reported case, it decided not to renew its contract with him.
Born in 1997, Nijiro Murakami is the son of actor Jun Murakami and singer UA. He made his acting debut in 2014 with director Naomi Kawase’s film Still the Water, which competed at the 67th Cannes Film Festival and earned him the Best New Actor award at the Takasaki Film Festival.
Murakami later rose to international fame through his portrayal of Chishiya in Netflix’s hit survival thriller Alice in Borderland, appearing in both the first and second seasons. He also attracted attention for his performance in Miracles of the Namiya General Store, further establishing himself as one of Japan’s most promising young actors.
In 2023, Murakami temporarily stepped away from the entertainment industry due to physical and mental health issues. During that period, he withdrew from promotional events for Tokyo Revengers 2 and left the stage production Evangelion Beyond.
He returned to acting in 2025 after taking time to recover. His most recent project is the Singapore-Japan co-production Lost and Found, in which he stars alongside Shawn Thia and Anna Yamada.
Sources: kenh14
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