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Actor Hiroki Narimiya retires after cocaine use claims by magazine

Friday Dec. 16
Friday Dec. 16

TOKYO (TR) – Popular actor Hiroki Narimiya announced on Friday that he will retire from the entertainment industry, a move that follows a report in a weekly magazine claiming the actor uses illegal drugs, reports Sports Nippon (Dec. 9).

In a statement sent by fax from his talent agency to news outlets, Narimiya, 34, said that he was the cause of the problem. “I was betrayed by a friend I trusted from the bottom of my heart, and I fell into a trap that several people set up,” he wrote in a letter in his own handwriting.

Narimiya went on to say that privacy is a concern. “It cannot be expressed in words the crushing feeling of anxiety, fear, and hopelessness that wrong information will continue to be spread,” he added.

According to the statement, police could not confirm the use of illegal drugs by Narimiya.

The allegations appeared in the December 16 issue of weekly tabloid Friday. In the early morning hours of November 9, the actor is alleged to have used cocaine at his residence in Tokyo.

In the article, there is a photo of Narimiya with a number of items on a table, one of which is said to have been cocaine atop a sheet.

A source for the article told Friday that Narimiya also uses illegal drugs in VIP rooms of clubs in the Roppongi and Nishi Azabu areas of Minato Ward. In addition to cocaine, the source says Narimiya uses marijuana and ketamine, a drug often used as an anesthetic.

Narimiya is best known for his starring role on the “Aibo” detective series that completed its 14th season on TV Asahi earlier this year.