The charges against Yano were dropped and he issued a statement on the matter.
Back in October, former Pro Wrestling NOAH talents Yasutaka Yano and Kinya Okada were arrested on suspicion of touching a woman in her early 20s in an ‘obscene manner’ in April 2023. At the time of the incident, Okada and Yano were in Sendai, Japan for a NOAH show. On the day of the show, the woman reported the incident to police and their investigation began.
A month later, both Yano and Okada’s NOAH contracts were terminated.
On December 15th, Yano issued a statement and revealed that the charges against him have been dropped. He apologized for his actions and noted that due to the privacy of the other party involved, he will not go into detail but wanted to inform the public that his apology has been accepted and the charges have been dismissed.
Yano added that even though the charges were dropped, it does not erase what he’s done. He noted that he hurt the person on the opposite end of his actions and caused trouble for NOAH, his pro wrestling fans and family. He vowed to live his life diligently going forward and will never forget what he did.
As of this writing, there is no update about Kinya Okada as it relates to the charges.
