Tim Alper is a journalist who covers betting news and regulation for CasinoBeats. He joined the CasinoBeats team in May 2025. He reports on breaking news and developments in the world of betting, casinos, and...
Read Full BioA court in Tokyo has ordered pop star and JO1 member Shion Tsurubo to pay a 100,000 yen ($675) fine for gambling at an online casino.
The Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the Tokyo Summary Court confirmed a guilty verdict after Shion confessed to the charges.
The court issued the 24-year-old star a summary order and ordered him to pay the fine at a hearing.
Prosecutors told the court that Shion had gambled on roulette games via an overseas online casino site named K8 from Japanese territory on several occasions between December 2023 and June 2024.
Police said they had evidence that Shion had spent some $104,000 on the site, incurring losses of $48,591.
Lapone Entertainment, JO1’s talent agency, issued a statement confirming that Shion will continue his current hiatus from entertainment industry activities.
Lapone said: “While Shion continues his hiatus, he will take on even greater awareness and responsibility. He will strive to restore his fans’ trust. Once again, we deeply apologize for this matter.”
Police Make an Example of J01 Star
Shion was indicted in Tokyo earlier this month following a case report from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. The department recommended that prosecutors should seek “strict punishment” in Shion’s case.
Police charged Shion with gambling in June this year after the star confessed to wrongdoing and issued an apology video to JO1 fans.
Shion joined JO1 along with 10 groupmates. All 11 competed in the South Korean-Japanese TV talent show Produce 101 Japan in 2019.
But while prosecutors have decided against pressing charges in several similar high-profile gambling cases involving sports stars and entertainers, they were keen to make an example of Shion.
The JO1 star claimed that he was initially unaware that betting on overseas betting sites was illegal in Japan.
But when he learned that this was indeed the case, in August last year, he promptly stopped placing bets, the star claimed.
Earlier this month, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors’ Office announced that it would not indict the comedians Asahi and Hiroshi Sano (of the comedy duo Butter Young).
Both comedians are represented by the entertainment agency Titan. Police said they had evidence that the two men used their smartphones to gamble on overseas online casino sites.
The Japanese media outlet NTV reported that the prosecution has refused to disclose the reasons for its decision.
Like Shion, both Asahi and Hiroshi Sano made full confessions to the charges during police questioning sessions.
