Tokyo Stories

Actress's husband tells cops underpants drugs hers, not his

Mark weitzman — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 03:40:09 GMT

Slacker husband tattles on celebrity wife

On Monday August 3, Yuichi Takaso, 41, a self-proclaimed "professional surfer" was arrested for alleged possession of amphetamines. Cops nabbed him while he was walking alone in Shibuya in Tokyo. The police found a plastic bag containing stimulant drugs stashed in his underwear. But Takaso claimed the drugs were not his. Sources say Takaso suggested he and his wife were both stimulant users.

Police asked Takaso's wife, actress and entertainer Noriko Sakai, 38, to come in for questioning and to submit to a voluntary urine drug screening test.

But Sakai and her 10-year old son disappeared August 3 following her husband's arrest. Sakai and their son had been living separately from Takaso.

So, police searched Sakai's apartment in Minato Ward Tokyo.

Straws discovered

Police sources say a large quantity of straws and a cylindrical inhaling device were seized at Sakai's residence. A DNA test on a straw matched Sakai's DNA, according to the sources.

Investigators allegedly found 0.008 gram of an illegal stimulant wrapped in aluminum foil. Investigators believe the minute amount was the residue of a normal-size hit which is usually about 0.03 gram.

Meanwhile, no contact had been made with Sakai, and her relatives had asked the police to search for her.

On August 4, police traced signals from the fugitive's mobile phone to the vicinity of Minobu (Town motto: Peaceful and energetic town on the move), Yamanashi Prefecture. Police issued bulletins to hotels and taxi companies in the area, apparently concerned that the famous actress would slip through the dragnet. Police investigators from Tokyo went to Yamanashi to investigate leads.

On August 6, the couple's son was found with a friend of Sakai's, according to a spokesperson at Sun Music, which manages Sakai.

Tokyo police believed that Sakai was preparing to flee because she had withdrawn money from an ATM, and purchased underwear from a Tokyo store. Tokyo police obtained an arrest warrant for the actress on August 7, on charges of violating the Stimulants Control Act.

Sakai turned herself in at a Tokyo police station in Bunkyo Ward around 7:55 p.m. August 8. She reportedly decided to surrender to police after discovering via TV news reports that police has issued an arrest warrant for her.

Sakai rats out husband

The Metropolitan Police Department said Sakai admitted to their allegations. ''I don't remember stimulants being in my room," Sakai allegedly told police. "But if they were there, it must be true.''

Results of a urine drug screening test conducted on Sakai August 9 indicated negative for drugs, according to sources.

Sakai has reportedly told police she began to use amphetamines in summer 2008. According to sources, Sakai said she and her husband heated the substances or used a pipe to inhale the stimulants. Sakai has allegedly stated her husband was the instigator of her use of the uppers.

Eliminate the root of evil

Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura told a news conference in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture "It is necessary to eliminate the root of an evil because it has been pointed out that drug use is widespread in the entertainment world. We need to tackle this issue so drug use will never spread among the youth."

Arrests for stimulant possession have been declining since peaking in 1984, police data show. Compared with about 24,000 in 1984, arrests have dropped to less than half, reaching about 11,000 in 2008, police said. However, arrests linked to drugs in the entertainment world have jumped in recent years, they said.

"People in the entertainment industry have a huge influence in society. We must strictly tackle the problem," a senior official of the National Police Agency said.

Who is Noriko Sakai

• Made her music debut in 1986, is still popular.
• Rose to fame in 1987 after releasing a single, Otoko no Ko ni Naritai, a few days before her 16th birthday.
• Known as Nori-P during her early career, she began to use her real name after turning to acting in the 1990s.
• One of her most acclaimed roles came in TV melodrama Hitotsu Yane no Shita.
• Is a singer and an actress.

• Markets her own line of clothes. pprikorino.com. (Innaccesible as of Aug. 5, 2009) Try this cached page.

• Has a "pure and straight" image.

• Toyota Motor Corp., Ara Pharmaceuticals, and other companies for which Sakai has appeared in commercials or as a spokesperson are reviewing their contracts and/or pulling the ads off the air.

• Victor Entertainment Inc. canceled plans to sell a greatest hits CD of Sakai's songs scheduled to have been released Sept. 16. The company also suspended sales of other products related to Sakai, including online distribution of her songs.

• Sayuri Kobayashi, a Beijing-based journalist, said Sakai is the most well-known Japanese actress among Chinese in their 30s and 40s.

• Recently appeared in a government-sponsored promotional video about the new "lay judge" new jury system that was introduced August 3, 2008.
The Supreme Court announced August 7 that it would stop using and distributing the video titled "Shinri" (Trial), and cease distribution of related pamphlets. It will also remove all publicity posters that were displayed at district and family courts. In the video, Sakai played the role of housewife who was selected to become a citizen judge. About 195,000 DVDs and videos were produced and loaned to the public by district courts and libraries.

• Music analyst Takashi Usui said Sakai's successful return to acting after childbirth turned her into a role model for many women.

(Compiled from new reports)
RELATED
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April 26, 2009: Movie Stars Booked for Drug Smuggling, Use
March 9, 2009: JAPAN: Young Drug Addicts Lack Support
February 27, 2009: Japan Shocked By Marijuana Scandals
February 2, 2009: Japan gripped by sumo pot scandal

November 17, 2008: Waseda University students smoke pot

October 27th, 2008: 70 percent of fugitives wanted for heinous crimes remain at large for over 5 years
August 7, 2008: Homegrown marijuana cases surge in Japan
May 28, 2008: Japan plants cannabis on air passenger

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Wanted List.

Schoolgirls Told Skirts Too Short

Mark weitzman — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:16:23 GMT

Guidance counselors at a high school in Niigata, Japan decided that school uniform skirt lengths were getting too short, so the advisors took it upon themselves to design and publish dress-code posters and distribute the posters to all the high schools in their district.

It seems the poster and hemline advice is the first time such a public campaign has been made. Many schools in Japan, from elementary through high school, require students to wear uniforms. Hair length and accessories rules are also enforced.

News outlets learned of the Niigata effort, and reporters were sent onto the streets to grab high school girls and measure the distance of their hemlines from their kneecaps.

From the reports, we learned the secret to instantly raising and lowering the hemline, a school principal revealed what was observed by a railway employee at a train station, and the average distance of school skirts from knee-to-hem for major cities in Japan has been determined.

As random skirt-checks continue at the schools, parents have been sent requests to cooperate in the proper attire campaign. Girls oppose the efforts. One high school girl said "Short skirts are cute". A 16-year-old high school student walking in front of Niigata Station said about the campaign, "It can't be helped at the moment. It makes little sense. We wear short skirts because everybody does, rather than because they look cute."

Click here to read the full story, read excerpts of school dress-codes, and see more photos and the news report video. Plus see pictures of the classic sailor-suit schoolgirl uniform in Japan.

PHOTOS: Plaid skirt; blue jacket & skirt girls; boys.

The Faces Of Obama In Japan

Mark weitzman — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 11:15:15 GMT

User-designed Obama tee shirts appeared within minutes after the U.S. Presidential election results were announced in Japan.

The ClubT instant-printing tee shirts Japan-based website became well-known here in September when outgoing Japan Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda was pictured in the media holding a user-created tee shirt featuring his image and words "I am not like you!".Fukuda had challenged a reporter at a press conference. Japan Prime Minister Taro Aso is currently pictured on the ClubT website – he holds a shirt that displays his image and the words "Samurai Taro". Aso approved use of the design. Japanese comedian Nozomu Sato began impersonating Barack Obama in February. Obama City, Japan took notice of Mr. Obama in February, using the connection to promote tourism. The Embassy of Japan said Prime Minister Taro Aso spoke by phone to President-elect Barack Obama on November 6. The embassy press release said that Mr. Obama "mentioned that he feels a strong affinity towards Japan and knows about Obama City in Japan."

Search ClubT: with keywords in English ok: Change; Yes We Can; Obama

Read more: Impersonator
See more: Obama tee Shirts Japan: Yes We Can

Female Train Workers Issued Defensive Device

Mark weitzman — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 19:31:53 GMT

Female conductors and refreshment vendors on one long-distance railway in Japan are being given pepper spray defensive canisters. Twice this year, women working in the first-class “green car” of a Shinkansen bullet train were assaulted in men’s restrooms on late night and early morning runs.

There are fewer passengers on those runs. Nine people work on the midnight to early morning Shinkansens. The number of carriages of a Shinkansen train varies depending on model. In early November, Central Japan Railway (JR Tokai) began issuing pepper spray devices to all female train employees.

The railway will distribute the palm-size pepper spray devices to a total of 1300 female employees. The spray mixture temporarily incapacitates perpetrators.

Conductor jobs on JR Tokaido Shinkansens were opened to women in 1999. Also beginning in 1999, female employees on JR Tokai routes - including the “green attendants” in the first class carriages - were given personal portable alarm devices.

Read more and see news video: Female Train Staff Get Self Defense Spray.

One Japanese website that sells personal safety gear for women offers a stun gun, a pepper spray canister, and a Hello Kitty personal alarm set for JPY 11000. (Or get the Hello Kitty alarm separately.) The site also has stun guns that look like phones, and menacing collapsible batons. See the cute stun gun animation.

The attendants on Shinkansens sell food and drinks, including beer, and bento – boxed food– known as ekiben.

Ekiben can be purchased on the long distance trains, or at stations.

RELATED: Sexism in Japan: Japan's concrete ceiling; Japan's innovation problem. Crime in Japan: Are foreign women safe in Japan?; Japan’s rising crime rate. Shinkansen information: (1) (2) PHOTOS: ekiben display; green attendant in train; eating in train; round ekiben; square ekiben; ekiben shop; attendants on platform; Mace set; stun gun scene; Shinkansen exterior; toilet.

Kids Cute Karaoke Cube

Mark weitzman — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:21:08 GMT

Singing karaoke goes portable now with the Hi-Kara battery-powered digital sing-a-long system for teens. It seems Japanese kids desired to sing karaoke anywhere, but no compact take-anywhere karaoke system for teens was available. This device solves that problem.

Hi-Kara, by the toymaker Takara-Tomy fits in a handbag and comes with a headset mic and a special USB downloader terminal to access the music downloads via PC from the Hi-Kara music website.

The plug-in music cartridges provide the lyrics that are displayed on the Hi-Kara LCD screen. Singers hear the music and their own voice in the headphones. Two users can share one cube to sing together.

Adults and teenagers, and kids accompanied by adults, have always been able to sing karaoke at the special karaoke booths in Japanese "karaoke box" entertainment centers.

Some karaoke chains are now creating kids rooms, for children accompanied by adults.

Families could enjoy karaoke in private singing rooms in some restaurants.

And anyone could sing at home with a variety of Mister Microphone-like options or a home karaoke machine connected to a TV.

Hear how to pronounce "karaoke" ("kah rah oh kay")
Hello Kitty karaoke and more photos about karaoke from Japan.

F*ing Brand - Not Kidding!

Mark weitzman — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:50:37 GMT

These stockings are not angering wearers. This F*ing brand is the name of a new line of hosiery in Japan. There are F*ing ads on TV and there are F*ing billboards.

The ad campaign features Yuri Ebihara, (nicknamed "Ebi-chan" – ebi means "shrimp" and adding "-chan" makes her a friendly shrimp) and Moe Oshikiri.

Ebi is an actress and model and has been a spokesmodel for McDonald's (including its Ebi Filet-o shrimp burger), and for Shiseido's Anessa sunsceen, among many other products. (Watch Ebi on the beach in the Anessa TV commercial, and see a photo gallery.)

Moe is also an actress and a top model and spokesmodel. She designs kimono too. Here's Moe in her kimono photo gallery.

Have a Nice Baby

Mark weitzman — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 12:32:39 GMT

Display your maternity mark and make people notice your baby in belly.
A variety of badges, pins and tags for pregnant women are available in Japan. The idea for the free badges originated at a railway company in Tokyo. Now private businesses offer other “Baby in Me” goods and designs. Japan Airlines also started offering free “maternity mark” badges. And if you’re driving, there are a lot of “Baby on Board” symbols available in Japan too.

More photos and details.

technorati link

Mark weitzman — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 19:25:09 GMT

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