Giants Manager Abe Resigns after Arrest for Daughter Assault

Tokyo, May 26 (Jiji Press)–Yomiuri Giants manager Shinnosuke Abe resigned on Tuesday after being arrested the previous night on suspicion of assaulting his daughter. In the morning, Abe, 47, met with Toshikazu Yamaguchi, the owner of the Japanese professional baseball team, and offered his resignation. Yamaguchi accepted the offer. “I caused enormous concern and trouble for baseball fans and people involved in professional baseball because of a problem in my family,” Abe said at a press conference in Tokyo. “I also tarnished the name of the storied Giants’ manager, so I deeply apologize.” Yamaguchi issued a statement saying that the team considers the incident too grave to allow Abe to remain its manager. Hideki Hashigami, the team’s chief offensive coach, will serve as acting manager. According to police sources, Abe allegedly assaulted his 18-year-old daughter at their home in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward around 7 p.m. Monday. He pushed her down after having an argument with her as he tried to stop a quarrel between her and her younger sister. He was drunk at the time. Following his arrest, Abe admitted to the assault, saying that he lost his temper when the daughter answered back after he told her to be quiet. The daughter was uninjured. The daughter reported the incident to a child consultation center after consulting ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence tool, the sources said. At the press conference, Abe’s representative read a statement from the daughter denying that she was hit or kicked. “I made a phone call because I was told (by ChatGPT) that there is a child consultation center where you can consult anonymously,” she said in the statement. The child consultation center then reported the incident to the police “without my own intentions being heard,” she added. “When the police arrived, I was the most surprised,” she also said. “Seeing my father being taken to the police, I broke down in tears.” “I deeply regret that I caused trouble for everyone concerned and that it became such a big thing,” she said. “I am very sorry.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]