In February 2006, Kago Ai was suspended from all Hello! Project work for a year after a tabloid published pictures, such as the one above, of her engaging in underage smoking. Now, only a short time after returning to work, she has screwed everything up and gotten herself fired:

In March 2007, Weekly Gendai — another gossip tabloid — published new photos that showed Kago visiting a hot springs resort with an older man. The tabloid reported that the two had spent the night alone together, but that when confronted, they claimed to be cousins attending a family function. The report also said that Kago was seen smoking again.

On 26 March 2007, UFA confirmed that the Weekly Gendai story was true as reported and that they had decided to terminate Kago’s contract.

More details can be found at H!P – Hello Non-Pro Hour with Jinryuichi [Posts: one, two, and three] and Japundit.