Daily Archives: August 4, 2009

Hot on the heels of talento Oshio Manabu’s arrest for drug use just last night, this morning it was revealed that pro surfer Takaso Yuichi (41) has also been detained by Tokyo police in an unrelated drug arrest. The husband of actress and former top J-pop idol Sakai Noriko (38), he was stopped for routine questioning in the Dogenzaka area of Shibuya late Sunday night. He was found to be in possession of stimulant drugs and was arrested on the spot. Takaso and “Noripi” met in 1998, when she was getting into marine sports and he was running a sports shop in central Tokyo. She got pregnant and they were married by the end of the year. After taking a year of maternity leave Sakai was back at work, now appearing more often in “Mama-san” roles. Takaso runs the “Core Side” ski and snowboarding store in Minami Aoyama. There had been speculation recently of a split between the couple.

It looks like talento Oshio Manabu (31) has got himself caught up in a very serious matter. Avex Management announced yesterday that they had cut him loose, saying only that he had broken the terms of his contract. It was later revealed that he has been arrested by Tokyo police for drug use and possible involvement in the death of a woman. Police at the Azabu station, responding to a call on Sunday night from a Roppongi Hills apartment building, found a naked woman dead on a bed. They are questioning the caller as well as Oshio, who is described as connected to the apartment. A urine test on Oshio gave a positive result for MDMA, better known as Ecstasy. He said he had received the drug from a friend but had taken it without realizing it was illegal. Oshi made his acting debut in 1998 and quickly developed a fan base through his roles in popular TV dramas. With a career that jumps erratically between acting and music, Oshio is mainly known these days for his 2006 marriage to popular actress Yada Akiko (30, photo right) and his surliness with the media. In May of last year he joined Avex, saying he was aiming to make it as an international actor. But the beginning of this year saw him revive his rock band LIV, who were supposed to be releasing an album within the year.