Masashi Tashiro
Encyclopedia
is a former Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 performer and the founding member of the band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 Rats & Star
Rats & Star
, formerly called Chanels, is a male J-pop group which specializes in doo-wop-influenced music. They performed at the reputed night club Whisky a Go Go of Los Angeles for two years in a row. The group is led by Masayuki Suzuki.-Members:...

. Tashiro was a tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...

 vocalist for Rats & Star, and later on made himself a name as a TV entertainer in Japan. He also directed a movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 after his band broke up.

His arrest for looking up a woman's skirt in September 2000 marked the beginning of Tashiro's problems with the law.

Early life

Masashi Tashiro was born in Saga Prefecture
Saga Prefecture
is located in the northwest part of the island of Kyūshū, Japan. It touches both the Sea of Japan and the Ariake Sea. The western part of the prefecture is a region famous for producing ceramics and porcelain, particularly the towns of Karatsu, Imari, and Arita...

 on August 31, 1956. His parents divorced soon after his birth when his father, a manager of a cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...

 chain, ran away with another woman. He was then raised by his mother. In 1961, he and his mother moved to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 and he was put through missionary kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

. In 1963, he entered Toyama elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

 in Shinjuku
Shinjuku, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the busiest train station in the world and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration center for the government of Tokyo.As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population...

. His mother remarried in April 1969, when he was thirteen years old, at which time he entered Okubo junior high school. However, he decided to enroll in a higher grade at a private high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 and live with his father in order not to rely financially on his mother's new husband.

In 1972, he entered Machine Studies at Shibaura Institute of Technology Senior High School after graduating from Nakase junior high school in March of the same year. It was here he met Masayuki Suzuki
Masayuki Suzuki
Masayuki Suzuki is a Japanese singer best known as a former member of Rats & Star...

, with whom Tashiro later formed the band The Chanels. Tashiro as well as Suzuki were considered juvenile delinquents in those days.

He was allegedly involved in fights, motorcycle gang
Bosozoku
is a Japanese subculture associated with motorcycle clubs and gangs.-Traits and history:The word bōsōzoku is also applied to motorcycle gangs, who share an interest in modifications for motorcycles, such as removing the mufflers so that more noise is produced...

 problems, going to party at a disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

 and going girl-hunting
Nanpa
, also transliterated as nampa, in Japanese culture is a type of flirting and seduction popular among teenagers and people in their twenties and thirties. When Japanese women pursue men in a fashion similar to nanpa, it is called .-Etymology:...

 every day during his time at high school. He has been detained by the police because of assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...

. He met his present wife at the end of his first year at high school. (However, he and his wife are now separated because of his several scandal
Scandal
A scandal is a widely publicized allegation or set of allegations that damages the reputation of an institution, individual or creed...

s and imprisonment
Imprisonment
Imprisonment is a legal term.The book Termes de la Ley contains the following definition:This passage was approved by Atkin and Duke LJJ in Meering v Grahame White Aviation Co....

)

In March, 1975, he graduated from Shibaura Institute of Technology Senior High School. It was around this time he started driving. His first car was a Sunny
Nissan Sunny
The Nissan Sunny is a small car from Nissan. It was launched in 1966 as the Datsun 1000 and although production in Japan ended in 2004, it remains in production today for the African, American and Sri Lankan markets. In the US, the later models were known as the Nissan Sentra; in Mexico, the Sunny...

. His subsequent cars were a Gloria
Nissan Gloria
The Gloria is a large luxury car made from 1959 by the Prince Motor Company, and later by Nissan Motors since its merger with the former - hence being originally marketed as Prince Gloria and later as Nissan Gloria...

, a Camaro
Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is an automobile manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand, classified as a pony car and some versions also as a muscle car. It went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed as a competing model to the Ford Mustang...

, a Ford, a Prelude
Honda Prelude
The Honda Prelude was a sports coupe produced by Japanese automaker Honda from 1978 until 2001. It replaced the Honda S800, a front-engined, front wheel drive sports car...

, and a Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...

. It had grown into an obsession of his.

After graduating from Shibaura Institute of Technology Senior High School in March, 1975, centering Masayuki Suzuki
Masayuki Suzuki
Masayuki Suzuki is a Japanese singer best known as a former member of Rats & Star...

, the Japanese doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...

 band The Chanels  was formed with Tashiro, Nobuyoshi Kuwano
Nobuyoshi Kuwano
Nobuyoshi Kuwano is a Japanese television performer, former member of Rats & Star. His nickname is "Kuwa-man" . In Rats & Star, he took charge of the trumpet and vocal...

 and others in the same year. Suzuki was the lead singer, Kuwano was the trumpeter, and he sang baritone.

In June 1975, he ran away from home after getting into a big row with his father. Later, he was taken in by Chanels member Hiroyuki Kuboki and worked as a clerk for the same filling station
Filling station
A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...

. He had lived in the company's dormitory for two years. Afterwards, he became a trucker after he was hired by the president of a truck company, who came as a customer in Tashiro's filling station in 1978. Although he already formed the band, he allegedly kept on working as a trucker because he thought that "The entertainment world is scary".

The Chanels and Rats & Star

The Chanels were formed in 1975, and began performing as an amateur band in 1976. They were chosen as a No. 1 band on a Japanese television program called and won a prize in a music contest under the sponsorship of Yamaha
Yamaha (manufacturer)
is a multinational corporation and conglomerate based in Japan with a wide range of products and services, predominantly musical instruments, electronics, motorcycles and power sports equipment.-History:...

.

Tashiro made his debut as a member of the group in 1980 and they came to be widely known for adopting rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 style. 4 members of the front singers including Tashiro wore blackface
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...

 using shoe polish
Shoe polish
Shoe polish , usually a waxy paste or a cream, is a consumer product used to polish, shine, waterproof, and restore the appearance of leather shoes or boots, thereby extending the footwear's life...

 and they became famous and popular. Their first single, "Runaway" sold more than 1 million copies. Their May, 1981's single "Hurricane" was covered by Puffy AmiYumi
Puffy AmiYumi
or Puffy AmiYumi is a Japanese rock duo that is currently signed with Sony Music Japan. The group continues to go by the moniker of PUFFY in Japan, but in order to avoid legal naming conflicts with Sean Combs, it has adopted the name Puffy AmiYumi outside of Japan...

 in 2001. In 1983, the group changed its name to Rats & Star
Rats & Star
, formerly called Chanels, is a male J-pop group which specializes in doo-wop-influenced music. They performed at the reputed night club Whisky a Go Go of Los Angeles for two years in a row. The group is led by Masayuki Suzuki.-Members:...

 because of its similarity with the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 brand Chanel
Chanel
Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...

.

After the band was practically dissolved in 1986 because the leader Suzuki launched a solo single , Tashiro, also thanks to his appearances on TV music shows like "The Best Ten" (ザ・ベストテン) and his work as a lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...

 for singer and actress Kyōko Koizumi
Kyoko Koizumi
' is a Japanese singer and actress. Her music is released through Victor Entertainment . She is also known by the nickname Kyon Kyon. She had singles reach the Top ten for 12 consecutive years between 1983 and 1994, a female solo artist record, until this was broken by Namie Amuro...

, gained enough popularity in Japan that he released an LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

, as a solo artist.

In March 1996, Rats & Star's members got together for six months and covered a member of band Happy End Eiichi Otaki's song in April of the same year. This song recorded a big hit. They also appeared in NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....

's Kōhaku Uta Gassen
Kohaku Uta Gassen
, more commonly known as simply Kōhaku, is an annual music show on New Year's Eve produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK and broadcast on both television and radio, nationally and internationally by NHK's networks and some overseas broadcasters which bought the program...

 at New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...

 of the year.

Comedian

After Rats & Star broke up, his comedic talent was discovered by Ken Shimura
Ken Shimura
, is a Japanese comedian and actor. He co-starred with Masashi Tashiro, Nobuyoshi Kuwano in the Japanese variety show "Ken Shimura no Bakatono-sama"....

, a member of Japanese comedic group The Drifters, and he became a television comedian
Owarai
is a broad word used to describe Japanese comedy as seen on television. The word owarai is the honorific form of the word warai, meaning "a laugh" or "a smile". Owarai is most common on Japanese variety shows and the comedians are referred to as owarai geinin or owarai tarento...

. Here he gained the nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....

s and . On July 10, 1988, he opened a tarento
Tarento
is a Japanese rendering of the English word "talent" and is used as a catch-all term for mass media personalities who regularly appear on television. Detractors of the phenomenon have referred to it in an English sense as "famous just for being famous" because many that fall into this career line...

shop, called "Marcy's" (マーシーズ) after his nickname, in Takeshita Street
Takeshita Street
is a pedestrian-only street lined with fashion boutiques, cafes and restaurants in Harajuku in Tokyo, Japan. Stores on Takeshita Street include major chains such as The Body Shop, McDonald's and 7-Eleven, but most of the businesses are small independent shops that carry an array of styles...

, Shibuya
Shibuya, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....

, Tokyo. He appeared in many television commercials, hosted in many television programs, wrote an autobiography and a book on puns, directed a movie and starred as the main character in the Famicom
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...

 action game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...

 , released in Japan on October 27, 1989.

This video game was not successful at the time it was published. However, after his later scandals and arrests, it started to fetch very high prices on Internet auctions
Online auction business model
The online auction business model is one in which participants bid for products and services over the Internet. The functionality of buying and selling in an auction format is made possible through auction software which regulates the various processes involved.Several types of online auctions are...

 like Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...

.

He also appeared as a film actor in a Shizuka Ijuin's original work film "Crêpe" in October, 1993. He co-starred with an actress Kaho Minami
Kaho Minami
Kaho Minami is a Japanese actress of Korean descent active in film, television and commercials. She has been married to actor Ken Watanabe since December 3, 2005...

 (Ken Watanabe
Ken Watanabe
is a Japanese stage, film, and television actor. To English-speaking audiences he is known for playing tragic hero characters, such as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in Letters from Iwo Jima and Lord Katsumoto Moritsugu in The Last Samurai, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best...

's present wife).

Voyeurism incident

On September 24, 2000, he was sent to the prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...

's office for filming up a woman's skirt
Skirt
A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped garment that hangs from the waist and covers all or part of the legs.In the western world, skirts are usually considered women's clothing. However, there are exceptions...

 with a camcorder
Camcorder
A camcorder is an electronic device that combines a video camera and a video recorder into one unit. Equipment manufacturers do not seem to have strict guidelines for the term usage...

 in Tokyu Toyoko Line Toritsudaigaku Station
Toritsudaigaku Station
is a Tokyu Toyoko Line station located in Meguro, Tokyo.-Station layout:-Adjacent stations:...

 in Meguro
Meguro, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It calls itself Meguro City in English.Meguro hosts fifteen foreign embassies and consulates. One of Tokyo's most exclusive residential neighborhoods is located in Meguro....

, Tokyo. When he was asked why he had done it at a news conference
News conference
A news conference or press conference is a media event in which newsmakers invite journalists to hear them speak and, most often, ask questions. A joint press conference instead is held between two or more talking sides.-Practice:...

 on October 4 of the same year, he claimed that he had been producing a comic film called , a pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...

 on the similar Japanese pronunciations for and and the two meanings of "tako" (callus
Callus
A callus is an especially toughened area of skin which has become relatively thick and hard in response to repeated friction, pressure, or other irritation. Rubbing that is too frequent or forceful will cause blisters rather than allow calluses to form. Since repeated contact is required, calluses...

 and octopus) based on the Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

 saying . The "mini ni tako" remark became infamous in the Japanese news media
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...

.

In December 2000, he was fined 50,000 yen (about 430 USD) for the voyeurism.

He was barred from working in the entertainment industry temporarily by his entertainment agency, MTM Productions, and his comment was "I wish miniskirts were obliterated from the Earth." While he was barred, he did volunteer work such as carrying the wash and serving meals in a nursing home 3 days a week. On June 28, 2001, he announced his return to the entertainment world by saying,

In July 2001 he appeared as a guest on television programs such as "Downtown
Downtown (owarai)
is a Japanese comedy duo from Amagasaki, Hyōgo consisting of and . Formed in 1982, they are one of the most influential and prolific kombi in Japan today...

 DX
," and . He also returned as part of the regular cast in . In order to become a regular in another program, , he was challenged to travel from Tokyo to Okinawa without being discovered by anyone. He lost the contest when he was found out in Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

 and 100 pictures of him were taken, but the public liked his stunt and his popularity soared back.

First trial for drug use

On December 9, 2001, he was arrested for peeping through the bathroom window of a man's house near his home in Kita-senzoku, Ōta, Tokyo by Den-en-chōfu
Den-en-chofu
, meaning "garden suburb," is a district in Ōta Ward in southern Tokyo. It lies along the Tama River, the natural border between Tokyo and Kawasaki, Kanagawa. It is served by Den-en-chōfu Station on the Tōkyū Tōyoko and Meguro lines...

 police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

. According to the police station, the 32-year-old man he was spying on spotted Tashiro and ran after him for 300 meters wearing only a bath towel
Towel
A towel is a piece of absorbent fabric or paper used for drying or wiping. It draws moisture through direct contact, often using a blotting or a rubbing motion. Common household textile towels are made from cotton, rayon, bamboo, nonwoven fibers or a few other materials.-Types of towels:* A bath...

 around his waist, eventually catching him and delivering him to the station. An eyewitness
Witness
A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...

 of this told that Tashiro put on a cap
Cap
A cap is a form of headgear. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head and have no brim or only a visor. They are typically designed for warmth and, when including a visor, blocking sunlight from the eyes...

 like a ski
Ski
A ski is a long, flat device worn on the foot, usually attached through a boot, designed to help the wearer slide smoothly over snow. Originally intended as an aid to travel in snowy regions, they are now mainly used for recreational and sporting purposes...

 cap, spoke loudly , when he was caught and there was a camcorder in the vicinity of the scene recording. He was once released on bail without punishment.

However, he was rearrested for possession and use of amphetamine
Amphetamine
Amphetamine or amfetamine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class which produces increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite.Brand names of medications that contain, or metabolize into, amphetamine include Adderall, Dexedrine, Dextrostat,...

 on December 12, 2001. The seven police detectives
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...

 carried out a home search in Tashiro's house as a corroborative investigation into his Peeping Tom
Voyeurism
In clinical psychology, voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other activity usually considered to be of a private nature....

 incident and discovered a bag containing 0.4 ~ 0.9g of speed
Amphetamine
Amphetamine or amfetamine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class which produces increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite.Brand names of medications that contain, or metabolize into, amphetamine include Adderall, Dexedrine, Dextrostat,...

. Tashiro stated that "I bought it" but how he used it was unknown because a syringe
Syringe
A syringe is a simple pump consisting of a plunger that fits tightly in a tube. The plunger can be pulled and pushed along inside a cylindrical tube , allowing the syringe to take in and expel a liquid or gas through an orifice at the open end of the tube...

 used to inject drugs was not discovered in the home search. He was detained as a suspect by the police station from aftermath of his arrest until February 1 of the next year. As a result, he was dismissed by MTM Production on the same day because of repeated scandals.

On December 28, 2001, he was prosecuted for the violation of Stimulant Drugs Control Law. He testified about it that "I used drugs to get rid of stress and tension before appearing on a TV program" for the investigation by Tokyo District Prosecution Office. He also talked that "I lived confined to the house and I began to worry. From about this April, I used it once every few days". According to an indictment, he warmed amphetamine over a fire and absorbed it in his home's video room.

His first trial for drug use and others was in Tokyo District Court
Tokyo District Court
is a district court located at 1-1-4 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. -References:...

 on February 1, 2002. Judgement was given on the case in the same court on February 8, 2002, where he was found guilty. However, he was given 3 years suspended sentence
Suspended sentence
A suspended sentence is a legal term for a judge's delaying of a defendant's serving of a sentence after they have been found guilty, in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation...

 of 2 years imprisonment.

In spring
Spring (season)
Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...

 2002, he returned to the entertainment world as director of V-Cinema
V-Cinema
Japanese is the direct-to-video industry that appeared in Japan in the 1980s. The term is a trademark of Toei Company but is widely used in the West to describe any Japanese direct-to-video release. In Japan the term used is...

 series such as .

In 2003 he made a recorded guest appearance in TBS
Tokyo Broadcasting System
, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....

's on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...

. This is his last public appearance in a television program to date.

Car accident

There was a rumor that Tashiro would be coming back to the public screens in spring 2004. However, he once again found himself in legal trouble for causing a car accident
Car accident
A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...

 on the Ōme
Ome, Tokyo
is a city located in Tokyo, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 139,932 and a density of 1,355.14 persons per km². The total area is 103.26 km².The characters 青梅 literally mean blue ume, or Japanese apricot....

 road in Suginami
Suginami, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. In English, it calls itself Suginami City.As of April 1, 2011, the ward has an estimated population of 538,703, with 301,277 households, and a density of 15,834.39 persons per km². The total area is 34.02 km².-Geography:Suginami occupies the...

. According to news reports, at about 1 AM on June 16, 2004, he crashed into a 18-year-old vocational school
Vocational school
A vocational school , providing vocational education, is a school in which students are taught the skills needed to perform a particular job...

 student on a motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

 after making an illegal U-turn
U-turn (maneuver)
A U-turn in driving refers to performing a 180 degree rotation to reverse the direction of travel. It is called a "U-turn" because the maneuver looks like the letter U. In some areas, the maneuver is illegal, while in others it is treated as a more ordinary turn, merely extended...

. The victim had his left thigh broken and suffered an injury that would take 2 weeks to heal completely.

Second trial for drug use

After 10 p.m. of September 20, 2004, he was arrested for violation of the Firearms and Swords Control Law in a street in Nakano
Nakano, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. In English, it calls itself Nakano City .As of April 1, 2011, the ward has an estimated population of 311,690 with a household number of 176,936 and a density of 19,992.94 persons per km². The total area is 15.59 km².-Geography:Five special wards...

 because he had a butterfly knife with a blade 8 centimeters long. He shared his car on the street with a woman of an acquaintance then and the police questioned them. After the investigation, it was also found out that he had about 2g of amphetamines and about 4g of marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...

 in a rucksack. As a result, he was once again arrested for it on the evening of the next day because a woman with him said "This rucksack is his" and he admitted it, too. After this incident, former Rats & Star member Masayuki Suzuki apologized for Tashiro's crimes in his place. Tashiro stated that the pressure of stardom contributed to his addiction to drugs.

Following this arrest, Tashiro was harshly criticized by many of his former co-workers, who said:
He was virtually retired from the entertainment world and was treated like he never existed. From here on, the media would refer to him as the "former entertainer
Tarento
is a Japanese rendering of the English word "talent" and is used as a catch-all term for mass media personalities who regularly appear on television. Detractors of the phenomenon have referred to it in an English sense as "famous just for being famous" because many that fall into this career line...

", and all the recordings and pictures taken when he was a Chanels/Rats & Star member were almost never broadcast anymore, and if they were, Tashiro's voice would be lowered to a hush or removed entirely, and no part of his body would show. Newspapers and magazines tacitly agreed not to talk about him at all. In an episode of a comedic duo , host Hikari Ota
Hikari Ota
is a Japanese television comedian.He is most famous as one half of the owarai duo Bakushō Mondai along with Yūji Tanaka, where he acts as the boke.- Unique character :...

 accidentally said his full name. In , Sayaka Aoki
Sayaka Aoki (comedian)
is a Japanese TV star and comedienne from Owariasahi, Aichi Prefecture . Both of her parents are primary school teachers. After graduating from Nagoya Gakuin University, she began her comedienne career. One of her co-workers is Hidekazu Nagai.-Career:* Aoki is a daughter of two elementary school...

, while displaying only part of his name, said "I put a camera in the chest drawer", which caused a general laugh. On the other hand, the part of Ken Shimura's commemorative speech held for the release of his program on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 where he said "Have you disappeared like Takafumi Horie
Takafumi Horie
is a Japanese entrepreneur who founded Livedoor, a website design operation that grew into a popular internet portal. After being arrested on accusations of securities fraud in 2006, he severed all connections with the company. He was granted bail, and the trial began on September 4, 2006...

 when you were knocked-out? I wanted to release this five years ago" was not broadcast.

He was arrested for possession of amphetamines on September 21, 2004. On February 7, 2005, he was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months imprisonment. On June 26, 2008, he was released from the prison.

Cocaine incident

On September 16, 2010, he was arrested along with a 50 year-old woman in a parking lot in Red Brick Park
Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse
The is a historical building that is currently used as a complex that includes a shopping mall, banquet hall, and event venues. The complex, officially known as the , was originally used as customs buildings, and has two sections: Warehouse No.1 and No.2. It is operated by Yokohama Akarenga Co...

 in Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...

, Japan for possession of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...

. According to police he was in possession of two bags of cocaine, and admitted "It is for my own use". When the police guarded against Yokohama because of APEC Japan 2010
APEC Japan 2010
APEC Japan 2010 was a series of meetings of the 21 member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation held around Japan in 2010. It culminated in the 18th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting held in Yokohama, Japan from November 13–14, 2010...

, he and a 50 year-old woman were arrested. Tashiro said he bought cocaine from a DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...

.

Yokohama District Public Prosecutors' Office indicted him on October 6, 2010.

Other suspicions of illegal video recording

Tashiro once hosted a combative sport program, Fuji Television
Fuji Television
is a Japanese television station based in Daiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, also known as or CX, based on the station's callsign "JOCX-DTV". It is the flagship station of the Fuji News Network and the ....

's SRS, with actress Norika Fujiwara
Norika Fujiwara
is a Japanese beauty queen, model and actress. She became Miss Japan in 1992 and was an exclusive model for CanCam magazine. She has appeared in various commercials and TV series and a number of films in Japan.-Career:...

. It was later found out that he was warned many times by the staff, who became irritated with his habit of sneaking into the ladies' bathroom (possibly with camera equipment) and not emerging again for hours afterwards.

Additionally, it was revealed that Fujiwara and other female television stars changed their clothes in the ladies' toilet during the time Tashiro was hiding inside. The staff associated with the show were suspicious that Tashiro did set up a small, transmitting camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...

 in the toilet room.

Author

In July 2002 he published a book, , in which he talks about the scandal, his family, life in jail and his comeback to the entertainment world. He confessed to using amphetamines in the book, stating that his first drug use was in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 in April 1998. However, he contradicted this statement when he said that "I used amphetamines and marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...

 first in Hawaii in May, 1991
" in a second trial on December 17, 2004. He also said that his first amphetamine use in Japan was in April, 2001.

"Person of the Year"

In 2001, users of internet forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...

 2channel
2channel
is a Japanese textboard. In 2007 there were 2.5 million posts made every day. Launched in 1999, it has gained significant influence in Japanese society, comparable to that of traditional mass media such as television, radio, and magazines. As of 2008, the site generates revenue upwards of ¥100...

 voted en-masse Tashiro as Time Magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

's Person of the Year. This act was soon dubbed the "Tashiro Festival" (Tashiro Matsuri, 田代祭) by 2ch users. 2channel programmers developed many scripts such as "Tashiro Cannon" (Tashiro-hō, 田代砲), "Mega particle Tashiro Cannon" (Mega-ryūshi Tashiro-hō, メガ粒子田代砲), "25 repeated blows Tashiro Cannon" (Nijū-go renda Tashiro-hō, 25連打田代砲) "Super Tashiro Cannon" (Chō Tashiro-hō, 超田代砲) to be able to vote repeatedly. "Super Tashiro cannon" was so powerful that it crashed Time's server. Afterwards, "Satellite Cannon -Tashiro-" was developed, but it was not deployed. Due to the votes of 2channel users, he got to the No. 1 position temporarily on December 21, 2001. However, Time's staff realized that something was unusual, and Tashiro was removed as a candidate.

Television

(Fuji Television) (Fuji Television) (Fuji Television) (Fuji Television) (Fuji Television) (Fuji Television) (Fuji Television) (Fuji Television) (Fuji Television) (TBS
Tokyo Broadcasting System
, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....

) (TV Asahi
TV Asahi
, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....

) (NTV
Nippon Television
is a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...

) (Friday, TV Asahi) (MBS
Mainichi Broadcasting System
is a broadcasting station in Osaka, Japan, affiliated with Japan Radio Network , National Radio Network , Japan News Network and TBS Network, serving in the Kansai region. MBS is also one of the major stockholders of Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings, Inc...

)

Radio

(Thurdsday, TBS Radio
TBS Radio & Communications
is the flagship radio station of Japan Radio Network in Tokyo, Japan. The company was founded by Tokyo Broadcasting System, Inc. on March 21, 2000...

) - October, 1986 ~ March, 1987 (QR
Nippon Cultural Broadcasting
is a Japanese radio station in Tokyo which broadcasts to the Kanto area. It is one of the two flagship radio stations of National Radio Network and also has a relationship with JOLF and Fuji Television....

) (LF
Nippon Broadcasting System
, or JOLF, is a Japanese radio station in Tokyo. Together with Nippon Cultural Broadcasting it is a flagship station of the National Radio Network...

)

Musical works

See Rats & Star
Rats & Star
, formerly called Chanels, is a male J-pop group which specializes in doo-wop-influenced music. They performed at the reputed night club Whisky a Go Go of Los Angeles for two years in a row. The group is led by Masayuki Suzuki.-Members:...

 for works as Chanels and Rats & Star. (August 27, 1986) (September 21, 1987 as "Shinnosuke & Marcy") (November 2, 1988 as Ken Shimura
Ken Shimura
, is a Japanese comedian and actor. He co-starred with Masashi Tashiro, Nobuyoshi Kuwano in the Japanese variety show "Ken Shimura no Bakatono-sama"....

 & Masashi Tashiro and Daijōbudā family) (July 1, 1994 as Marcy & Izumi) (December 17, 1993 as Ken & Marcy) (March 8, 1995 as Masashi Tashiro & Kuniko Asagi
Kuniko Asagi
is a Japanese actress and television presenter. Her real name is .- Early career :She attended Kokubunji High School in Tokyo, and Gakushuin University. Her resume includes Tokyo Disney Resort advertising, shown widely when the park opened.- Personal Life :...

)(August 14, 2010 as Marcy & Frontier Create)

Books

(May 1988, Kōdansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...

) - ISBN 4-06-103101-5 (April 1994, Magazine house) - ISBN 4-8387-0534-4 (October 1993, Japan literary arts company) - ISBN 4-537-02384-8 (July 2002 K2 publishing sale) - ISBN 4-434-02252-0

See also

  • Peeping Tom
    Peeping Tom
    Peeping Tom is a nickname commonly given to voyeurs, particularly males. It originated with the legend of Lady Godiva, when a man named Tom watched her during her nude ride and was struck blind or dead.It may also refer to:In music...

  • Sex crime
  • Damnatio memoriae
    Damnatio memoriae
    Damnatio memoriae is the Latin phrase literally meaning "condemnation of memory" in the sense of a judgment that a person must not be remembered. It was a form of dishonor that could be passed by the Roman Senate upon traitors or others who brought discredit to the Roman State...

  • Ken Shimura
    Ken Shimura
    , is a Japanese comedian and actor. He co-starred with Masashi Tashiro, Nobuyoshi Kuwano in the Japanese variety show "Ken Shimura no Bakatono-sama"....

  • Takeshi Kitano
    Takeshi Kitano
    is a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...

  • Akiko Wada
    Akiko Wada
    is a female Japanese singer and television performer of Korean ancestry, originally hailing from , Ikuno-ku, Osaka. Born Kim Bok-Ja , like many Zainichi Koreans, she also had a name for everyday use, which was Japanicized . On her selection of Japanese citizenship, her name became , which upon...

  • Kazuhide Uekusa
    Kazuhide Uekusa
    is a Japanese economist, economic analyst, former senior economist at Nomura Research Institute, and chairman of the Three-Nations Research Institute Co., Ltd.. He gained notoriety for his sex offense arrests.-Career:He was born and raised in Edogawa, Tokyo...

  • Sosuke Sumitani
    Sosuke Sumitani
    Sōsuke Sumitani is a Japanese announcer for Nippon Television. He was known for his good looks and was the sports announcer on various shows, slowly becoming a household name...


External links

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