Celebrity News

Ayumi Hamasaki Will Divorce Her Austrian Husband

A year ago, Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki married Manuel Schwarz, an Austrian model/actor who had appeared in one of her music videos. At the time, Japan Probe readers were quite skeptical about the marriage:

“I give it 3 months…” – Yom

“I smell another Kevin Federline” – Franco

“The marriage could be an ‘arrangement of convenience’ sponsored by Hamasaki’s yakuza-linked/controlled talent agency, Avex, designed to get her a boost of positive coverage & publicity. If so, expect it to last a year or two tops.” – Jean Bapiste Pluie

She’s announced that she is filing for divorce. It lasted more than 3 months, but it was a short marriage. And she is apparently blaming the March 11th disaster:

“I am the reason (for the divorce.) We decided to live in the U.S. upon our marriage, but the Great East Japan Earthquake struck two months after we married, and I began to have a strong feeling that I don’t want to leave Japan,” the Fukuoka Prefecture native said on the website.

“I could not think of living in the U.S., and thus I left him alone for many days,” she went on. “We discussed (our future) a lot. I thought physical distance can be overcome by visiting each other, but the physical distance has turned into mental distance.”

From a PR standpoint, “I can’t abandon my country after such a disaster” is probably one of the best excuses available.

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Professional Motorcycle Racer Hiromi Sakai Dies in Accident

Professional motorcyclist Hiromi Sakai has died in a speedway accident:

Sakai came off her motorcycle at about 4:20 p.m. on Jan. 15, and hit a fence. She died shortly afterward in a medical office at the venue. Officials said her cause of death was a fractured skull, and police are investigating the cause of the accident.

Sakai made her professional debut last July. At the time, she was the first woman to compete in the sport in 44 years.

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Takeru Kobayashi Interview: “I’m not gay, I’m Japanese.”

Super human professional eater Takeru Kobayashi has answered questions posted by Reddit users:

For more, check out: Competitive Eater Takeru Kobayashi Answers Your Questions (Reddit.com IAmA)

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K-Pop Group Arrested For Visa Violations

Japanese police have arrested the members of the Korean pop group “Great” – who were apparently working despite having only come to the country on tourist visas:

The group arrived in Japan in October on tourist visas. Despite being aware of the fact that their activities were an illegal violation of the visa terms, they’ve given about 70 concerts in Tokyo.

From the video clip, we can see that the police raid took place at Seichi Entertainment’s concert house in Shin-Okubo. Here are a description of the business from the Mainichi:

Groups of female fans are often seen waiting on a street in the Shinjuku Ward district for performances at the K-pop music hall Seichi, which has been offering three stages a day of young Korean musicians since it opened in April.

The hall, with a capacity of about 200 people and meaning “sacred place” in Japanese, hosts both South Korean and domestically formed K-pop acts.

It is located in the basement of a multiple-tenant building on a street lined with Korean restaurants in an area known as Korea town.

“I think this place is a culture base to sustain the Korean boom,” said Chu Kwang Ho, 56, manager of Seichi.

And here is a YouTube video of them, calling on fans to check out one of their illegal performances:

Judging from the lack of many pictures and videos of the group, it seems that they were relatively unknown and just getting their start in Japan. If they were hoping to cash in on the K-pop boom in Japan, they will have to give up that dream now. After this visa violation they’ll probably be barred from entering the country for at least a few years.

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Dante Carver Caught Driving Without License

American actor Dante Carver, best known for his role in Softbank mobile commercials, has been busted for driving in Japan without a legal driver’s license.

According to press reports, Carver was stopped by police after making an illegal u-turn in Shibuya on July 2nd. When they asked to see his license, he showed them an international driving permit. Such permits are only recognized as legal when drivers are tourists. Because Carver is a resident of Japan, he should have obtained a Japanese license.

Carver, who has lived in Japan since 2005, pleaded ignorance. He says he didn’t realize he needed to get a Japanese license.

An article in the Sankei Shimbun says that Carver was scheduled to appear on BS Fuji TV network kids’ program later this month, but the show’s producers have decided to cut his segment. Apparently they do not want their program associated with Carver’s lawbreaking. Carver had appeared regularly on the program since 2008. It is unclear whether he will be allowed to return to the show in the future.

One can tell that this is no small matter from the way that this news video has presented footage of Mr. Carver. They are using file footage of him at a promotional event, but the logos in the background have been censored. This is to prevent his lawbreaking from damaging the reputation of whatever company or product he was promoting at that event.

As some of you may remember, Carver got into some trouble in August when he caused a minor traffic accident in Shibuya.

At the time, he made no mention of the status of his license.

For reference, here is a very clear warning from the United States Embassy:

International Driving Permits (IDP)

“Residents” are expected to convert or obtain a Japanese drivers license. Persons using an international drivers license who are resident in Japan can be subject to fines or arrest. The exact boundary between “resident” and “not resident” is unclear. In practice it seems to involve more than simply visa status or length of stay in Japan and is determined by the police.

We have heard from several Americans who were told by the police that using an International Driver’s License for more than a year, or using one after exiting and then returning to Japan, or using one when you are residing in Japan, or after you have obtained an Alien Registration Card, or after 90 days in Japan, or using a license obtained by mail while you are in Japan, is illegal. In two instances, following accidents, Americans were charged with driving without a license, a serious offense. Driving without a license may also void your insurance coverage.

Read what the Japanese Police have to say about International Driving Permits.

American citizens who come to Japan often have one-year international driving permits issued in the United States by the American Automobile Association (AAA). Carver has been living in Japan for about 6 years, he probably would have needed to get his permits renewed one or more times.

Other nationalities can easily obtain legal Japanese licenses through some simple paperwork, but Americans are required to take a test. Rather than go through such a hassle, some American residents of Japan choose to illegally drive using international permits. And many of them get away with it – especially when they don’t get caught violating traffic rules and don’t cause traffic accidents.

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Sound Equipment Failure Reveals Japanese Boy Band’s Atrocious Singing

A few days ago, Fuji TV aired a 2011 music special that included live performances of some of the year’s most popular songs. When boy band Arashi took the stage, there was some kind of technical trouble. Instead of the CD-like quality of the other groups’ performances, audiences were given a taste of some raw audio:

A sloppy machine translation of a J-Cast article about the incident:

Arashi singing performance of 2011 FNS song gest is topical as too bad, this has theory that is sound trouble. Fuji TV twitter erupted by Arashi fans.[from beginning, no voice, singing voice come to dissonance> Arashi performed Labyrinth Love Song with violinist, Taro Hakase, Emiri Miyamoto-san. this came to bad. from start no voice at all, and pitch was not stable. and chorus part also brink of collapse, from start to end singing voice come to dissonance. it seemed members embarrassed too. Kazunari Ninomiya-san who start sing begging part makes embarrassed face. Sho Sakurai-san also makes bitter smile.

Arashi fans have denied that the incident reflects the actual singing ability of the group.

Some internet conspiracy theorists have pointed out the lack of technical trouble during K-pop performances as proof of Fuji TV’s devious plot to promote Korean culture. They believe that Fuji TV intentionally screwed up Arashi’s microphones, while allowing the Korean artists to lip sync…

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