Sake-Bombed Japanese Star Gets Naked

PopEater
posted: 102 DAYS 19 HOURS AGO
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filed under: Music News, Troublemakers, WTF?
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Japanese pop fans are losing their marbles Thursday after a member of the nation's most beloved pop band was arrested overnight following a sake-fueled breakdown involving absolutely zero articles of clothing.
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Trouble for Tsuyoshi

    Japanese pop star Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, center in blue, is led into a police vehicle in Tokyo on Thursday April 23, 2009. Kusanagi, a member of popular pop music group SMAP, was arrested Thursday for public indecency after being found drunk and naked at a Tokyo park, police said. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) ** JAPAN OUT, NO SALES, MANDATORY CREDIT FOR COMMERCIAL USE ONLY IN NORTH AMERICA **

    AP

    Japanese pop star Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, center in blue, is led into a police vehicle in Tokyo on Thursday April 23, 2009. Kusanagi, a member of popular pop music group SMAP, was arrested Thursday for public indecency after being found drunk and naked at a Tokyo park, police said. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) ** JAPAN OUT, NO SALES, MANDATORY CREDIT FOR COMMERCIAL USE ONLY IN NORTH AMERICA **

    AP

    Japanese star Tsuyoshi Kusanagi is escorted by police out of a police station in Tokyo April 23, 2009. Kusanagi, a member of the pop group SMAP, widely popular across Asia, was arrested early Thursday morning on charges of public indecency after police found him screaming, naked in a Tokyo park, local media said. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon (JAPAN ENTERTAINMENT CONFLICT SOCIETY IMAGE OF THE DAY TOP PICTURE)

    Reuters

    Japanese star Tsuyoshi Kusanagi is escorted by police out of a police station in Tokyo April 23, 2009. Kusanagi, a member of the pop group SMAP, widely popular across Asia, was arrested early Thursday morning on charges of public indecency after police found him screaming, naked in a Tokyo park, local media said. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon (JAPAN ENTERTAINMENT CONFLICT SOCIETY)

    Reuters

    Japanese star Tsuyoshi Kusanagi is escorted by police out of a police station in Tokyo April 23, 2009. Kusanagi, a member of the pop group SMAP, widely popular across Asia, was arrested early Thursday morning on charges of public indecency after police found him screaming, naked in a Tokyo park, local media said. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon (JAPAN ENTERTAINMENT CONFLICT SOCIETY)

    Reuters

    FILE - In this Monday, April 21, 2008 file photo, Japanese pop star Tsuyoshi Kusanagi attends a TV news show with 100 Japanese youngsters in Tokyo. Kusanagi was arrested Thursday for allegedly being naked at a Tokyo park, police said. Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, a member of hugely popular group SMAP, was also intoxicated, a Tokyo Metropolitan Police official said on condition of anonymity, citing department rules. (AP Photo/Toshifumi Kitamura, Pool)

    AP

    Japanese star Tsuyoshi Kusanagi is escorted by police out of a police station in Tokyo April 23, 2009. Kusanagi, a member of the pop group SMAP, widely popular across Asia, was arrested early Thursday morning on charges of public indecency after police found him screaming, naked in a Tokyo park, local media said. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon (JAPAN ENTERTAINMENT CONFLICT SOCIETY)

    Reuters

    (FILES) This file photo taken on April 21, 2008 shows Japanese singer Tsuyoshi Kusanagi attending a television news show in Tokyo. Kusanagi was arrested on suspicion of public indecency on April 23, 2009 police said amid reports he was naked, drunk and acting up in a central Tokyo park. AFP PHOTO / POOL / FILES / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA (Photo credit should read TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)

    AFP/Getty Images

    TOKYO - APRIL 21: South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak (L) shares a light moment with Japanese singer Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (R), known as Chonan Gang in South Korea, while he attends a TV news show with 100 Japanese youngsters on April 21, 2008 in Tokyo, Japan. Lee is on a two-day official working visit to Japan. (Photo by Toshifumi Kitamura - Pool/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Chonan Gang;Lee Myung-Bak;Tsuyoshi Kusanagi

    Getty Images

    TOKYO - APRIL 21: South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak (L) delivers a speech as Japanese singer Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (R), known as Chonan Gang in South Korea, looks on during a TV news show with 100 Japanese youngsters on April 21, 2008 in Tokyo, Japan. Lee is on a two-day official working visit to Japan. (Photo by Toshifumi Kitamura - Pool/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Chonan Gang;Tsuyoshi Kusanagi;Lee Myung-Bak

    Getty Images

"What's wrong with being naked!?!" is what 34-year-old SMAP singer Tsuyoshi Kusanagi was heard "shrieking at the top of his voice" while sitting naked in a Tokyo park. He was arrested arrested for public indecency. According to media reports, he flailed his arms at the police officers, who ended up having to wrap the star in a plastic tarp to subdue him.
"I caused trouble to many people. I am deeply sorry," Kusanagi said after sobering up.
(To put this in perspective, this is like if a member of *NSYNC or the Backstreet Boys had done a similar act back in 2000.)
His arrest has been the top news item on every major network in Japan and has been picked up by dozens of international sources, whose writers have obviously had a good time mixing "pop star," "naked" and "shrieking" in the same paragraph.
Times Online: The Japanese media world has been plunged into chaos by the humiliating arrest of Tsuyoshi Kusanagi ? a member of SMAP, the biggest, best-loved and most successful boy band in Japanese pop history.
Guardian: Japan's best-known pop band faces an uncertain future after one of its members was found cavorting naked in a public park in Tokyo in the early hours today.
Reuters: Media helicopters hovered overhead and photographers camped out in front of Japan's top talent agency on Thursday after one of television's cleanest-cut stars was arrested for public indecency. Tsuyoshi Kusanagi of the pop group SMAP was found drunk and naked in a public park in Tokyo in the early hours of the morning, his agency said in a statement. He was alone and shrieking at the top of his voice, media reports said.
The Japan Times: What's wrong with a little public nudity? It's a crime called public indecency. But for pop group SMAP's 34-year-old member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, it also means angry sponsors and the cancellation of lucrative advertising contracts, including one from the government.
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BBC: A Japanese pop star has been arrested for public indecency after being found drunk and naked at a park in Tokyo, police have said. Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, of the boyband SMAP, was found alone and "shrieking at the top of his voice" in the early hours of Thursday, according to media reports.
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2009-04-23 13:27:05
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