The husband of disgraced Japanese pop star Noriko Sakai on Wednesday told a court of their drug use, fueling a media frenzy that has gripped the nation since their arrests in August.
Yuichi Takaso, 41, told the Tokyo District Court that he was carrying illegal “stimulants” at the time of his arrest on Aug. 3 because he was planning to use them later with his wife.
Takaso and Sakai reportedly used methamphetamines on a regular basis.
“If I left it at home, I thought that my wife Noriko might use it alone without me watching,” he told the court, adding that he was concerned about the dangers posed by Sakai’s unsupervised drug use.
“I was thinking that we could meet up later and do it together,” he said.
Takaso’s arrest eventually resulted in drug charges against 38-year-old Sakai, shocking the Japanese public which has seen her grow from a teenage pop idol to become an actress in high-rating television shows and films.
Further adding to the drama of the case, Sakai, who is also well known in China, Taiwan and South Korea, went on the run for about a week before turning herself in to police on Aug. 8 and admitting to habitual drug use.
More than 1,500 people queued for hours in front of the courthouse to join a lottery for 42 gallery seats to see Takaso, a self-described professional surfer who was unknown to the public before his arrest, testify.
Sakai will have her first court hearing this week, which is likely to attract even more local media interest.
Her enduring fame and girl-next-door image have won her advertising contracts with carmaker Toyota, government public awareness campaigns and a role in a 1993 celebrity-studded commercial against youth drug abuse.
Michael Jackson fans will get a tantalizing glimpse of what might have been tomorrow as the movie charting the tragic singer’s final concert rehearsals makes its long-awaited premiere.
More than 100 hours of behind-the-scenes footage for Jackson’s aborted comeback have been distilled into a two-hour film being hyped by organizers as the last ever performance by the King of Pop.
Jackson family members and stars are expected to descend on a red carpet at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theater, one of more than 15 simultaneous premieres being held in across five continents.
The movie — This Is It — will go on a limited two-week release in theaters worldwide from Wednesday, with advance tickets in several countries selling out within days of going on sale last month.
“It’s a movie about rehearsing for a concert that never happened,” Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s heartbreaking and inspiring all at the same time.”
Jackson, who died on June 25 aged 50, had spent the previous four months rehearsing in Los Angeles for a grueling series of 50 concerts scheduled to begin at London’s 02 Arena in July.
More than 800,000 tickets for the concerts had been sold, with organizers promising one of the “most expensive and technically advanced” live shows ever.
Jackson was putting the finishing touches to the show at the time of his death, which authorities in Los Angeles have ruled a homicide.
Film director Roman Polanski could face two years in prison if extradited to the US after fleeing sentencing in California on child sex charges in 1978, the Swiss justice ministry said. “The US want him to be extradited for sexual intercourse with a minor. This carries a maximum sentence of two years under US law,” justice ministry spokesman Folco Galli said on Friday.
A Bahamian lawmaker who caused a judge to order the retrial of two people accused of trying to extort US$25 million from actor John Travolta was just repeating a “rumor” when he prematurely announced an acquittal verdict, his lawyer said on Thursday. Supreme Court Senior Justice Anita Allen ordered a retrial late on Wednesday after the politician, Picewell Forbes, announced in a live TV and radio broadcast at a party convention that the accused had been cleared. But he did so before the jury in the five-week-old high-profile trial had formally issued any verdict.
Brotherhood, Danish director Nicolo Donato’s tale of a homosexual love affair within a neo-Nazi gang that targets gays and Arabs, took top honors on Friday at the Rome international film festival.
“We’ve been working hard for this movie for four years,” Donato said as he accepted the Golden Marc’Aurelio award from jury president Milos Forman. “This is a dream come true.”
Oscar-winning British actress Helen Mirren won best actress for her role as the wife of 19th-century Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy in Michael Hoffman’s The Last Station.
Best actor went to Italy’s Sergio Castellito for Alza la Testa by Alessandro Angelini, in which he portrayed a father whose sole dream is to see his son become a prize fighter.
Following the shock complete failure of all the recall votes against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers on July 26, pan-blue supporters and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were giddy with victory. A notable exception was KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), who knew better. At a press conference on July 29, he bowed deeply in gratitude to the voters and said the recalls were “not about which party won or lost, but were a great victory for the Taiwanese voters.” The entire recall process was a disaster for both the KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The only bright spot for
As last month dawned, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was in a good position. The recall campaigns had strong momentum, polling showed many Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers at risk of recall and even the KMT was bracing for losing seats while facing a tsunami of voter fraud investigations. Polling pointed to some of the recalls being a lock for victory. Though in most districts the majority was against recalling their lawmaker, among voters “definitely” planning to vote, there were double-digit margins in favor of recall in at least five districts, with three districts near or above 20 percent in
From Godzilla’s fiery atomic breath to post-apocalyptic anime and harrowing depictions of radiation sickness, the influence of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki runs deep in Japanese popular culture. In the 80 years since the World War II attacks, stories of destruction and mutation have been fused with fears around natural disasters and, more recently, the Fukushima crisis. Classic manga and anime series Astro Boy is called “Mighty Atom” in Japanese, while city-leveling explosions loom large in other titles such as Akira, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Attack on Titan. “Living through tremendous pain” and overcoming trauma is a recurrent theme in Japan’s
The great number of islands that make up the Penghu archipelago make it a fascinating place to come back and explore again and again. On your next trip to Penghu, why not get off the beaten path and explore a lesser-traveled outlying island? Jibei Island (吉貝嶼) in Baisha Township (白沙鄉) is a popular destination for its long white sand beach and water activities. However, three other permanently inhabited islands in the township put a unique spin on the traditional Penghu charm, making them great destinations for the curious tourist: Yuanbeiyu (員貝嶼), Niaoyu (鳥嶼) and Dacangyu (大倉嶼). YUANBEIYU Citou Wharf (岐頭碼頭) connects the mainland
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