NHK has learned that the Takarazuka Revue musical theater company has reached an agreement with a deceased performer's family who had been seeking an apology and compensation. The bereaved family says bullying and harassment led to the woman's death.

Sources said the two sides have come to an agreement in the negotiations via their attorneys.

The member of the all-female theater company was found dead in the city of Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, in a suspected suicide in September last year. She was 25.

Takarazuka Revue released an investigative report last November. It said psychological stress on the performer due to long work hours could not be ruled out. But it said bullying or power harassment could not be confirmed.

The bereaved family, on the other hand, has claimed that there were 15 incidents involving senior performers and senior theater officials that constituted harassment of the deceased woman.

The sources say that Sumi Kazuo, the chairman of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, the parent company of the theater's operator, apologized in person to the bereaved family on Thursday.

They say senior members of Takarazuka Revue have also offered a written apology to the family.