Kusanagi Tsuyoshi Arrested for Indecency

[Lady Zhuge]

It sounds like a TV stunt gone wrong, but SMAP member Kusanagi Tsuyoshi (34) has actually been arrested for public indecency. The popular talento and singer was detained by Tokyo Metropolitan police in the early hours of April 23 after residents in the central Tokyo area of Akasaka called them around 3am to complain about someone making a racket in Hinokicho Park near the Tokyo Midtown complex. Police arrived to find the drunk Kusanagi stark naked and running around shouting abuse at anyone and everyone. Normally under such circumstances, the person would be taken into police custody rather than arrested. So it can be assumed that Kusanagi was violent in resisting arrest. Like the other four members of the perennially popular SMAP, Kusanagi appears in a wide variety of TV and commercial roles and the impact of his arrest is likely to be huge. One casualty will probably be the movie "Ballad Namonaki Koi no Uta," which is scheduled to open in the autumn. Misbehaving celebrities usually get their names and credits quietly removed from TV shows and movies, but as this movie actually stars Kusanagi it's not a matter of a bit of cutting and pasting. Fellow SMAP-ite Inagaki Goro disappeared from the scene for a while after he got himself arrested for turning a simple parking violation into an attempted hit and run in August 2001.

The media have been in a frenzy all day today about the arrest of a drunk and naked Kusanagi Tsuyoshi (34) in a Tokyo park last night. Residents of an apartment building next to the park were interviewed by reporters. One elderly man said, "At about 3am I heard someone screaming 'Waa, waa" and at first I thought it was someone shouting for help. It was really loud and lasted for about 15 minutes." A female resident said, "I heard a high-pitched scream. It sounded like someone was letting out their stress. I could hear it even with my windows closed. But we often have foreigners making a racket in the park so I didn't make much of it. I was very surprised to hear it was Kusanagi-san." Another person said they heard him shouting "Shingo! Shingo!" no doubt referring to fellow SMAP member Katori Shingo (32). The star's management agency, Johnny's Jimusho, said that he had the day off yesterday and they had no idea of his whereabouts. They faxed out a typical bland apology addressed to fans and anyone affected by the scandal, while the woman who works as his manager was in tears when questioned by reporters. It sounds like it'll take more than that to appease the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications. Always a grandstander, Hatoyama Kunio blasted the celebrity, saying, "It makes me boiling mad. He's the lowest kind of human being. Unforgiveable." He added that he couldn't understand why such a low life had been given the job of media point man for the government's plan to switch to all digital broadcasting by 2011. He has been promptly removed from that post, and all posters and TV commercials featuring him will disappear. NHK has already cut him from one show on their educational channel and four regular Fuji TV slots - "Waratte Iitomo!," "SMAPxSMAP," "Bokura no Ongaku" and "Chonan Khan" - will undoubtedly be affected. Meanwhile, Kusanagi has been transferred from the Akasaka police station, which is being remodeled, to the one in Harajuku.

The media have been busy for the last day or so analyzing the aftermath of Kusanagi Tsuyoshi's arrest. Some big numbers are being thrown around as estimates of the cost to the companies that have a financial stake in him. At the time of his arrest he had 7 commercial contracts, 8 regular TV and radio shows and a movie due for release in September. Columnist Himura Masaaki (59) said, "With SMAP being probably Japan's top talentos, Kusanagi alone would get about ¥50 million for an ad. As a group, their guarantee would be &yen120-150 million. Even just a music tie-up would bring in ¥50 million at a bare minimum." He estimated that the cost to Johnny's Jimusho agency just in terms of this lost income would add up to about ¥420 million. But on top of that, with the cost of posters, TV, magazine and newspaper ads, those companies would be looking at losses of ¥500 million each. So Johnny's could easily be faced with having to compensate sponsors to the degree of ¥5 billion. And then of course there's disgruntled TV networks and the ongoing effect on future earnings as well. All in all, it turns out to have been a pretty expensive naked romp in the park.

Meanwhile fans and commentators have been questioning why police decided to search Kusanagi's Tokyo apartment after the arrest. As he tested negative for drugs and the incident took place elsewhere, the search should not have been part of the investigation. Lawyer Osawa Takayuki said, "It's very unusual in such a case. As he's a celebrity and the impact of the arrest is very wide, they may have decided to do it just in case." Nihon University law professor Itakura Hiroshi said, "The prosecution of this case may be unexpectedly harsh. But I think he will be released soon. Even if he's indicted, he should face a fine of les than ¥300,000. I certainly don't see him getting a prison sentence."

Source: http://www.japan-zone.com/news/index.shtml

Tokyograph article: http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-4688



Frankly, I'm shocked. Tsuyoshi always seemed to be the tamest and most harmless of the group.

[Nefertari]

Yeah, many people are. He always seem so well-mannered.

Now, he's finally breaking down under that facade. Do you reckon something traumatizing happened to him?

He'll be boycotted for quite a while for sure. Lucky thing is he doesn't have to depend on media for survival anymore.

[pemberly]

maybe i'm just jaded with all those crazy american celebrity antics, but this seems like no big deal to me. why are they persecuting him so much? i understand japan is much more conservative, but still.

[Lady Zhuge]

maybe i'm just jaded with all those crazy american celebrity antics, but this seems like no big deal to me. why are they persecuting him so much? i understand japan is much more conservative, but still.

I agree that some of the backlash is going way overboard ala Hatoyama Kunio calling him "the lowest kind of human being." The search of his house was probably also unnecessary under the circumstances, even if he's a celebrity. I think a lot of people feel "betrayed" by this seemingly humble and quiet elite of the Japanese entertainment industry. That, and the public has always been mesmerized by a fall from grace...the higher the starting point and the longer the way down, the better. If this were Edison Chen or something, people would probably be like "Hoo ha, so what? Let's move on to the next piece of celebrity trash news."

It will be interesting to see how this incident impacts the dynamics of SMAP and shows like SMAPxSMAP. Hopefully they will be able to overcome it like they did from Goro's incident 8 years ago.

[Guo Xiang]

The "low-life" insult was definitely way overboard. It wasn't as if Kusanagi committed murder or arson.

Frankly, I'm shocked. Tsuyoshi always seemed to be the tamest and most harmless of the group.

Sigh... the most quiet and reserved people are the ones who will nearly always give you a shock when they lose control...

[Lady Zhuge]

We knew this was coming.

Kusanagi Tsuyoshi (34) gave a press conference on Friday night to speak about his arrest yesterday on public indecency charges. He appeared before about 200 reporters amidst a sea of camera flashes at the headquarters of Victor Entertainment in Tokyo shortly after 9pm. He immediately gave the customary bow of apology and apologized to fans, those connected with him and his fellow SMAP members. "I drank way too much and lost control of myself, and I behaved in a way that is an embarrassment to any adult. I deeply regret what happened and I apologize sincerely." He bowed again deeply before he and reporters took their seats. After that his lawyer took over and said, "As you can see my client has been released and he has not been prosecuted. That investigation is still underway" He then explained the sequence of events that led to the arrest. He said that the singer was off on Wednesday and spent the day at his family home in Saitama prefecture. After returning to his apartment in Tokyo he went to a local izakaya. There he had dinner and drank several beers before switching to shochu. The izakaya normally closes at 10pm, but Kusanagi and two female staff were there drinking until about 2am. It may have been at this point that Kusanagi headed home and ended up in the Hinokicho Park on the way, or he may have visited another bar first, as was said in some reports. His lawyer said he had absolutely no recollection of this sequence of events. The conference was then opened to reporters' questions. Kusanagi answered most of them himself, occasionally choking up when talking about how supportive the other SMAP members had been, though he has yet to meet with them face to face. When asked whether he would give up drinking, he said that he would only try to drink more responsibly. When asked if the incident had been caused by stress or pressure, he insisted that he was not suffering from either but had simply let a fun night go too far. When asked how he felt about not being able to work for the foreseeable future, he said, "It's tough. I want to get straight back to work. But I need to do my penance and the rest is really not up to me. I have to be forgiven by the fans, by the other members (of SMAP)."

Source: http://www.japan-zone.com/news/2009/...nference.shtml

[xJadedx]

He probably only received so much backlash because SMAP is part of Johnny's Entertainment, which prides itself with the boy-next-door, innocent, cute boys image.

I read this on another forum, and apparently he resisted arrest by saying "What is wrong with being naked?" and frankly, that's a pretty good question :P.

[jiang bao]

I dunno who he is, but I enjoy crazy celeb tactics and always like reading when-celebs-go-wild type news.

He just has to be punished accordingly like an average joe and that should be all. He shouldn't be treated any more or less favorably than the average person.

That's not likely to happen, but I can always hope.

[Lady Zhuge]

I read this on another forum, and apparently he resisted arrest by saying "What is wrong with being naked?" and frankly, that's a pretty good question :P.

Haha, true, but there is a time and a place.

Press conference clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhLFBxsE5-U

I think his answers have been pretty honest and straightforward. He didn't try to excuse his actions by blaming stress or pressure. He won't give up drinking altogether, but he will try to drink more responsibly.

Poor guy. He's forgiven in my book.

[xJadedx]

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsO...5404XO20090501

Nice.

[sehseh]

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsO...5404XO20090501

Nice.

Now where can I get my hands on those t-shirts?

[wingster1958]

what's the big deal,no one was hurt,he just like to show off his body

[Lady Zhuge]

Kusanagi Tsuyoshi (34) is ready to get his career back on track barely a month after his arrest, according to a statement yesterday from Johnny's Jimusho. He will join the other members of SMAP on May 28 to record their weekly variety show "SMAPxSMAP," which will be aired on June 1. On May 29 he will make his first live appearance, in his regular slot on the afternoon show "Waratte Iitomo," and record the narration for the music show "Bokura no Ongaku." Filming of the new "Jinkyo Helper" drama series in which he stars will begin as scheduled in June and the show will aired as planned from July. All the shows are on the same Fuji TV network. Johnny's said that they are cooperating with Fuji and that Kusanagi is likely to give a press conference before his return to work. Although he was let off with a suspended indictment after his April 23 arrest for public indecency, the speed of his return is about money more than an admission of the limited impact of a rare drunken outburst on public morals. If he had received the standard punishment of several months probation, the losses from his TV, radio, movie and commercial contracts would have been in the billions of yen. There was also the outpouring of support from fans, many of whom thought that police had been unnecessarily harsh on someone who, at least when sober, is rather shy and one of the country's most unassuming celebrities.

Source: http://www.japan-zone.com/news/2009/..._returns.shtml

[cheek]

It was kinda weird not to see Kusanagi on SMAPXSMAP the weeks after.

I wonder what's the big deal? Poor him. Seriously, it's only walking around naked. *shrugs*