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Rock Band ALI Returns From Hiatus

Seven-member band Alien Liberty International (ALI) announced on their website that they are returning from their hiatus on Thursday.

The band had taken an indefinite hiatus in May following the arrest and indictment of the band's drummer Kahadio (real name Kadio Shirai). At the same time, the band's management has cancelled its contract with Kahadio. As such, he is no longer a member of the band.

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested Kahadio on April 4 on alleged special fraud charges. According to investigators, Kahadio received cash from ATMs as part of a scam operation.

In recent years, Japanese police have been investigating a rash of "refund scams." In these scams, suspects pose as officials and promise government refunds to unsuspecting victims if they withdraw cash from ATMs, or provide their ATM cards to the suspects.

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested Kahadio again later in April on a separate charge of fraud. According to the police, Kahadio and his friends called an elderly woman in Osaka on March 3, offering her a refund of her medical expenses in exchange for her transferring 2.31 million yen (about US$21,000) to a bank account. The police added that Kahadio was witnessed withdrawing about 420,000 yen (about US$4,000) at a convenience store ATM the next day.

The band was slated to perform the opening theme song "TEENAGE CITY RIOT" for The World Ends with You the Animation (Subarashiki Kono Sekai The Animation), the anime of Square Enix's The World Ends with You (Subarashiki Kono Sekai) action role-playing game. Following Kahadio's arrest, the anime changed its opening theme song.

The funk/hip-hop group ALI previously performed the theme songs for the BEASTARS, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Noblesse anime. The band made its major debut in 2019 with the single "Wild Side," the opening theme song for the first season of BEASTARS.

Source: ALI's website via Hachima Kikо̄