Monthly Archives: August 2009

Here’s a quick roundup of the top news from the Obon holiday break.

A private funeral service was held yesterday for actor Yamashiro Shingo (photo top left), who died of pneumonia on August 12. He was 70. The funeral in his hometown of Kyoto was presided over by his younger brother as his daughter, actress Minami Yuka (42), chose not to attend. His only child, she became alienated from her father following his second divorce in 1999, when she said his womanizing had made her lose all respect for him. Yamashiro, once a major star in samurai and yakuza movies, entered a facility for the elderly in June of last year.

• Comedian Itao Itsuji (46, top center) is in a state of shock following the sudden death of his baby daughter. The cause of death of 22-month-old Emi is unknown. Itao is renowned as a doting father and he used a photo of himself and his only child on the cover of a recently published book. He and his wife have been married since 1998. Itao and his comedy partner HonKon debuted as the Yoshimoto comedy duo 130R in 1986. They found nationwide fame in the early 1990s on the “Downtown no Gotsu Ee-kanji” show.

• Comedian Hazama Kampei (60, bottom) has completed the trans-Atlantic leg of his Earth Marathon. An experienced endurance runner, he is seeking to be the first person ever to run and sail around the globe. He set off from Osaka last December, running about 600km to Tokyo before sailing the Pacific and then running across North America. He landed at Le Havre in northwestern France on August 16, after 33 days at sea during which he turned 60. He will set off across northern Europe on the 22nd and aims to be in Copenhagen in October when the venue for the 2016 Olympics is announced. Tokyo is one of the candidate cities.

• Actress Komura Hiro (43) was on live TV this week talking about her divorce from actor Fuse Hiroshi (51, top right). The couple were married for 17 years and have three sons. Tono Nagiko (29) didn’t manage to last quite as long. The actress announced on her blog this week that she and her company employee husband (27) divorced last month, just 72 days after tying the knot. Former top Takarazuka actress Suzukaze Mayo (48) has declined to comment on rumors of her ongoing divorce negotiations. She and former Japan rugby star Imaizumi Kiyoshi (41) married in 2004.

• And though there were no major new developments, the news over the last week continues to be dominated by the drug arrest of actress/singer Sakai Noriko. There have been revelations of where she hid out while on the run for 6 days, and the former lawyer and his brothers who helped her may face charges. Sakai is still in detention but has yet to be formally charged.

Jasmine You, bassist with the Japanese visual rock band Versailles, has died. His death was announced on the website of the band’s management agency late Sunday night, though no details were given. The band, made up of Jasmine (photo, 2nd from left), Kamijo (vocals), Hizaki (guitar), was formed in 2007 and they were later joined by Teru (guitar) and Yuki (drums). Through videos posted to YouTube and an English page on MySpace, they developed a growing fan base in the U.S. before finding any success at home. They made their major label debut with their fifth single “Ascendead Master” in June but had postponed any engagements in support of the release due to Jasmine’s health problems. Warner Music Japan has not yet said how his death will affect the planned September release of an album. Due to a conflict over use of the band’s name, they are known as Versailles – Philharmonic Quintet in the United States.

Actress Sakai Noriko (38) may escape trial for drug possession due to a lack of conclusive evidence. Sakai’s disappearance for 6 days following the arrest of her husband on August 3 meant that the urine test for traces of methamphetamine was basically too late (the drug usually clears the system in about 4 days). And the amount of the drug found at her Tokyo home was miniscule. Police found paraphenalia with Sakai’s DNA but only 0.008g of meth, whereas the amount for a single hit is around 0.3g. Her husband, Takaso Yuichi (41) has said he bought the drug from a foreigner and that his wife has been a user since last summer. Sakai said she started on the urging of her husband but has used only a few times in the last year. Legal experts have said that the evidence as currently reported is probably not enough to build a court case, and Sakai may well received a suspension of indictment. Actor Nakamura Shunta is a recent example of a first-time drug user who received similar leniency. The son of actor Nakamura Masatoshi (58) and actress Igarashi Junko (56) was arrested in April for possession of 0.03g of marijuana.

Actress/singer Sakai Noriko, arrested at the weekend for drug offenses, was transferred to the Tokyo District Court this morning. At about 9am, she was taken in a silver MPV from the Tokyo Wangan police station, as some 100 reporters braved the wind and rain. She will spend the next ten days at the Wangan detention center. The center opened in March 2008 and is said to be realistically depicted in the hugely popular “Odoru Daisosasen” (Bayside Shakedown) movie series. It holds 192 detainees, with men and women segregated. Detainees receive three meals a day and, during the summer season, bathe once every five days. During a 7am-9pm day, detainees can expect to face up to 8 hours of questioning.

Meanwhile, reaction to the arrest has been varied. Saturday’s edition of the TBS news show “Joho 7 Days – Newscaster,” which aired shortly after Sakai’s arrest on Saturday night, had an audience rating of over 30%. The show has a recent average rating of 12.8%. Police headquarters have been busy fielding calls from Noripi’s fans, some of whom have volunteered to take her place. Her fellow celebrities, as always protective of their own image, were careful to mix criticism with their sympathy. producer Terry Ito said, “I think she’s a bit spoiled. It might do her good, as a person, to spend some time in prison.” Veteran singer Wada Akiko, never short of an opinion, was also harsh in her judgement, adding “We really should stop calling her Noripi.” Victor Entertainment has decided to cancel the September release of a double hits album, “Golden Best,” has recalled CDs and DVDs from music stores and removed her music from download services. Her TV commercial contracts for the Toyota Noah and the painkiller brand Norshin will no doubt be canceled, though both already finished airing earlier in the summer. Ironically, Sakai is the star of a series of movies made as a PR tool for the recently introduced lay jury system. DVDs of the movie have been withdrawn.

Bringing an end to the biggest celebrity manhunt Japan has seen in years, actress/singer Sakai Noriko (38) turned herself in at a Tokyo police station tonight. On the run for six days following her husband’s arrest for drug possession, the details are yet to emerge of “Noripi’s” escapade other than she was at the Tokyo home of an acquaintance when she called her lawyer this evening. On his advice she appeared at a police facility near the Tomizaka station in Bunkyo Ward at about 7:55pm. After brief questioning, she confessed to the charges of drug use and at around 9:30pm she was transferred to the Shibuya station (photo). Only now are related stories emerging about Noripi’s change in behavior since her marriage ten years ago to Takaso Yuichi (41), a self-proclaimed pro surfer and business owner. Early last year a tattoo was spotted on her left ankle, something not considered in keeping with her pure and innocent image. Showbiz sources say she had lost a lot of weight and was behaving erratically lately.

Tokyo police have found all the evidence they need to prove that actress/singer Sakai Noriko (38) was a user of methamphetamine. In a search of her home they found not only carelessly hidden drugs but also the paraphenalia for using them. A test revealed Sakai’s DNA, confirming her husband’s statement that they had taken drugs together. Sakai is still on the run, with her last known location thought to be in Yamanashi Prefecture. It has been revealed that on Sunday night, immediately after she refused to allow police to search her or to accompany them to the police station for a urine test, she withdrew several hundred thousand yen from a convenience store ATM. She is known to have bought underwear and cosmetics and returned briefly to her home before going into hiding. Her husband was arrested on the spot on Sunday night, and an arrest warrant for Sakai was issued on Thursday.

It was also revealed yesterday that Sakai’s younger brother Takeshi (30) was recently arrested on a drug charge, though the incidents are thought to be unrelated. Takeshi is a member of the Yamaguchi Gumi organized crime organization in Fukuoka, his family’s hometown. He was arrested on June 29 for using threats of violence to take a car and cash from an acquaintance. While he was on bail in that case, police thought his behavior suspicious and subjected him to a urine test. When that test proved positive for MDMA, he was arrested on July 17. His court case is due to begin August 28.

Not only is actor Oshio Manabu facing likely jail time, but there won’t be a wife tying yellow ribbons for him while he’s inside. Actress Yada Akiko (30) yesterday faxed a statement to the media saying she had filed for divorce from Oshio (31), less than a week after his arrest for drug use. The couple had been separated for about six months and Yada acknowledged that the reasons included Oshio’s extra-marital affairs, their “incompatible values,” and the ongoing effect on her son and other people around her. There have been reports that the woman whose death is at the center of the ongoing investigation, rather than pursuing Oshio for his fame and money in fact felt she was being stalked by the bad-boy actor and musician. Her family and friends, who attended her funeral during the week, have expressed their anger at Oshio’s seeming refusal to take responsibility for her death. The media has also been critical of his statements to police, in which he has insinuated that the woman coerced him into taking MDMA (ecstasy) and that it was the advice of an acquaintance that made him abandon her body in the luxury Roppongi apartment where she died, naked on a bed. In her statement yesterday, Yada apologized for her ex’s behavior but said she was not ready to speak to the press in person. The couple married in November 2006 and had a child the next year.

Earlier stories:

Oshio Manabu Faces Drug Arrest (Aug 4, 2009)

The Japanese media are hitting fever pitch with the news that Tokyo police have issued an arrest warrant for actress/singer Sakai Noriko (38). Her management agency Sun Music Production, refused to comment on the latest development except to say they are checking the facts. When “Noripi,” as she is popularly known, and her young son disappeared after the drug arrest of her husband late Sunday night, the general feeling was one of sympathy. The consensus was that she was simply overwhelmed by the shock of what was happening and trying to escape the inevitable media glare. But today it was revealed that police have discovered stimulant drugs at the Kawasaki home shared by Sakai, her husband Takaso Yuichi, their 10-year-old son, and Takaso’s mother. Though she has long had a squeaky clean image and is a popular TV “mama-san” role model, Sakai has had more than her share of troubles. Her mother died when she was young and when her father remarried, the family moved to her step-mother’s home in Saitama Prefecture; her father died in a traffic accident in 1989; in 2000, shortly after Sakai returned from maternity leave, Mizoguchi Nobuo – her manager since her 1985 debut – hanged himself at the Sun office. The only sign of her since her disappearance was a brief signal from her mobile phone, the origin in Yamanashi Prefecture just 30km from the scene of her father’s fatal accident. This morning, the news that her son was safe at the home of a friend in Tokyo seemed to be the beginning of a resolution to the incident. But with an obviously rattled Sakai now the subject of a manhunt, the media are understandably nervous about the possible outcome.

Earlier stories:

Noripi in Search of Enlightenment? (Aug 5, 2009)

Sakai Noriko Goes Missing (Aug 5, 2009)

Noripi’s Hubby in Latest Drug Arrest (Aug 5, 2009)

Actress Ohara Reiko was recently found dead at her home in the Tokyo suburb of Setagaya. She was 62. She was found by a police officer called by a relative who became worried after repeated failed attempts to reach the actress. Ohara joined the Toei movie studio in the mid 1960s and established herself as a supporting actress next to such stars as Takakura Ken and Umemiya Tatsuo. She later moved to the world of TV dramas where starring roles soon made her the most popular actress in the country. But she is perhaps best remembered for her line in a commercial for Suntory Red whisky: “Sukoshi aishite, nagaku aishite” (love me a little, love me long). She herself was twice married and twice divorced, to actor Watase Tsunehiko and enka star Mori Shinichi. Since 1999 she battled a disease known as Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disorder affecting the peripheral nervous system. The condition forced her to cut back on her workload, though she made occasional TV and stage appearances. In November 2008, she suffered a broken wrist and injured her knee in a fall at her home.

Watch one of Ohara’s famous Suntory commercials:

Sukoshi aishite, nagaku aishite

• The latest developments in the disappearance of Sakai Noriko. The star hasn’t been seen since the drug arrest of her husband on Sunday night. Police started a search for Sakai and her 10-year-old son following a request from her mother-in-law and management agency. A signal from her mobile phone was detected in the Minobusan mountain area of Yamanashi Prefecture on Tuesday night, close to where she lived as a child with her stepmother and late father. A report this morning said that the current whereabouts of her stepmother are also unknown. Meanwhile, it was revealed last night that Sakai left her son in the care of an acquaintance before leaving Tokyo on Monday.

A former Johnny’s Jimusho idol singer has gone from stealing hearts to stealing steel balls, according to a statement released by Saitama police on Wednesday. Kasukabe City police station named Matsumoto Kazuki (26) as one of four men arrested last month for stealing from pachinko parlors in the city. The statement gave details of one minor theft, but the total sum stolen over several years amounts to some ten million yen. Matsumoto joined Johnny’s Jimusho when in the eighth grade, and as a member of the Johnny’s Jr. group he appeared in TV commercials and drama series. But three years later he left the agency, saying he wanted more free time. He started working at a La Festa pachinko parlor in Kasukabe in January 2007 and soon he got involved with the group who were stealing pachinko balls and exchanging them for cash. A typical theft would involve temporarily disconnecting a device that counts the balls during a machine test. According to the police statement, on one day they stole 3,300 balls for which they got about ¥8,000. But over the course of time, the group stole a sum estimated at around ¥10 million. Pachinko, while considered Japan’s biggest leisure activity, operates in a shadowy area skirting the law. Parlors are unable to give out cash winnings, but patrons exchange their ball bearing-like “tama” for token gifts, which in turn they exchange for cash at hole-in-the-wall shops located just outside the premises. The vast majority of pachinko parlors are operated by ethnic Koreans and billions of yen are believed to be funneled each year to North Korea.

• Details continue to trickle out in the Oshio Manabu case. The actor (31) continues to insist that he didn’t know the tablets he and his female companion took last weekend were illegal. The cause of her death has yet to be determined, but Oshio has said that she passed out after taking a second tablet of MDMA (Ecstasy). The exact time of her death has yet to be officially reported, but one estimate would put Oshio at the scene for up to ten hours before he telephoned his manager and medical services were called. A legal expert has said that Oshio is unlikely to face murder charges, and if he is determined to have forced the women to take the drug he would likely face manslaughter charges. As he has acknowledged that he left the apartment after calling his manager, he will at least face charges of abandonment of a body. That combined with the drugs charge would lead to a prison sentence of five years or more.

Meanwhile family and friends attended the woman’s funeral in Gifu Prefecture on Wednesday night. Her name has not been made public, though her photo is published in today’s issue of the weekly magazine “Friday.” She was 31 and described as having the looks of an actress. She is said to have been having an affair with Oshio, who is married to actress Yada Akiko (31), for about six months.

The latest update on the whereabouts of actress/singer Sakai Noriko (38) is that her mobile phone was last spotted in the area of Minobusan in Yamanashi Prefecture. The mountain is a pilgrimage destination for Buddhists and is the burial place of Nichiren, the 13th century monk and founder of one of the biggest Buddhist schools. Sakai’s phone, unreachable since the arrest of her husband Takaso Yuichi (41) on Sunday night, was switched on briefly on Tuesday night. It then became unreachable again, but it’s not known if this was because it was turned off or because it was out of network range. Sakai’s mother-in-law and the president of her management agency formally requested a police search for the star on Tuesday. Meanwhile it was revealed that Sakai was waiting for her husband in their car when he was stopped on a Shibuya street and arrested on the spot for possession of stimulant drugs. She and their 10-year-old son haven’t been seen since. In a related development, it turns out that Takaso’s claims to be a professional surfer were lies. An angry Japan Pro Surfing Association said today that he has never been registered with them even as an amateur. Takaso is believed to have lied about his profession to help business at the store he runs in central Tokyo selling surfing and other sports-related goods.

Earlier stories:

Sakai Noriko Goes Missing (Aug 5, 2009)

Noripi’s Hubby in Latest Drug Arrest (Aug 4, 2009)