HONG KONG (TR) – Police here have arrested a 61-year-old local man after former adult video (AV) actress Mao Hamazaki collapsed in violent convulsions at a facility following a Halloween music event in the early hours of November 1, reports Smart Flash (Nov. 4).
According to a reporter with local media in Hong Kong, the victim, who is now a Hong Kong-based DJ, was handed two shot-glass cocktails resembling orange juice before her body went into severe convulsions and full muscular rigidity. Urine tests subsequently returned positive results for four distinct substances, police said.
Investigators cracked the case through residue. A cup the former AV queen had drunk from was found to contain residue whose chemical composition matched the drug profile detected inside her body, police said, strengthening suspicion against the man who had handed her the drink and ultimately leading to his arrest.
No direct affiliation
The 61-year-old suspect, who has been accused of administering a drug with intent to endanger life, has no direct affiliation with the venue itself but is believed to be connected to an event that was being held there at the time, according to local media.
His motive and whether he has admitted to the allegations have not been disclosed.
The arrest is expected to advance investigators’ understanding of the full circumstances of the incident. The case has also drawn attention to what experts describe as a growing pattern of drug-related incidents in Japan linked to wealthy Chinese-national visitors.
“Wealthy Chinese clientele”
Mikaeru Hagiwara, an analyst specializing in underground entertainment, said that the decline in Japanese corporate entertainment budgets has dealt severe damage to hostess clubs and nightclubs, with high-spending Chinese tourists increasingly filling the revenue gap.
“The more upscale the venue in Ginza or Roppongi, the more dependent it has become on wealthy Chinese clientele,” he said.
Hagiwara explained that China has an established nightlife business model combining private-room hostess clubs and sexual services under one roof, and that similar hybrid operations have taken root in Japan, typically operating behind doors labeled as VIP rooms or karaoke rooms. “In effect, these are secret rooms built for Chinese visitors,” he said.
“Private space”
Asked why such establishments are rarely shut down, Hagiwara said Japanese police, even when responding to reports of illegal activity, are slow to enter private rooms already in use. “That gives anyone inside as much time as they need,” he said, adding that the rooms carry persistent rumors of drug use and sexual services, and that some Chinese visitors believe that anything goes inside a private space.
“The incident involving Hamazaki reportedly occurred in a private space at what was described as a personal party,” Hagiwara said. “It is very likely that the same mindset was behind what happened to her.”
Incidents inside sealed rooms leave little evidence and victims are frequently left with no recourse, investigators and advocates note. Behind the glittering facade of Japan’s nightlife districts, cross-border misconduct of this kind is spreading quietly.
