Chief of closed kimono rental firm offers apology

January 27, 2018

Yokohama- Yoichiro Shinozaki, president of closed Japanese kimono rental firm Harenohi, on Friday offered an apology for the company's sudden shutdown, which ruined Coming-of-Age Day celebrations for many young women earlier this month.

"I'm very sorry to those who were unable to wear kimono at Coming-of-Age ceremonies," Shinozaki, 55, told a press conference in Yokohama, the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo.

It is the first time for the Harenohi president to appear in public since the closure came to light earlier this month.

Shinozaki denied any intention to hide himself, saying that he had repeatedly met with his lawyer to discuss how to deal with the situation. He said he was staying at the home of an acquaintance in Kanagawa.

The president insisted that the Yokohama-based company had intended to offer kimono-dressing services for Coming-of-Age ceremonies until the night of the day before its closure.

Harenohi continued to receive orders until mid-December last year. But Shinozaki denied that it attempted to cheat customers out of their money.

Although Harenohi overstated its sales in the year to September 2016 and its capital on its website, Shinozaki ruled out window-dressing, saying that this happened due to an error in checking the figures.

In addition, Shinozaki categorically denied the alleged resale of customers' kimonos kept at the company on their behalf, saying he has confirmed that 1,163 sets of kimono are at its outlets. He suggested that the company will return the kimonos to customers in stages.

Harenohi saw a sharp increase in costs due to its aggressive shop openings while its sales continued to decrease, according to Shinozaki.

Around April last year, Harenohi started to face difficulties making payments to its suppliers, and product supplies stopped then, sending the company into a financial stalemate, he said.

Shinozaki said that he is ready to cooperate with authorities' investigation into the problem.

On Friday, Yokohama District Court informed Harenohi of its decision on the start of procedures for the company's bankruptcy liquidation. According to attorney, the company's debt is expected to total one billion to 1.1 billion yen.

The number of creditors is estimated to total some 1,600, including about 1,300 people who bought kimonos.

While some kimonos and related accessories that have not been sold are left at the company, hundreds of thousands of yen in cash is the only personal asset held by Shinozaki. Jiji Press