On August 28, troubled musician Aska pleaded guilty to charges of drug use and possession in the Tokyo District Court.
The past three months have been rough for the 56-year-old member of the pop duo Chage and Aska, and, if Flash (Sept. 16) is to be believed, he is now raising the ire of organized crime.
“Since Aska wants to avoid jail time, he’s talking openly about how he got his drugs,” an upper member of the Sumiyoshi-kai tells the weekly tabloid. “There’s that old saying about how one shouldn’t squeal. You just don’t do that.”
The gangster mentions two other celebrities, former actor Kentaro Shimizu and TV personality Masashi Tashiro, both of whom were arrested on drug-related charges most recently in 2010.
“Until the very end, neither of them said a thing,” says the gangster.
In the hearing, prosecutors said that Aska occasionally visited the Roppongi entertainment area to purchase drugs from an unnamed trader.
On August 21, Tokyo Metropolitan Police announced the arrest of two suspects, including Takahiko Yasunari, 47, a member of the Daisho-kai, an affiliate gang of the Sumiyoshi-kai, for the alleged sale of 100 tablets of MDMA (also known as Ecstasy) to Asaka for 500,000 yen.
The source quoted by Flash is not a member of the Daisho-kai but knows that Aska was a V.I.P. customer.
“After Aska was arrested people immediately started talking about whether a top Daisho-kai boss would be arrested,” says the gangster. “But Yasunari is not a top boss. It seems the police arrested him as a way to get at a top boss for another incident. This is very troublesome.”
The source says that in general people do not disclose how they obtain their drugs.
“Aska did it out of fear,” says the source, “and I guess that’s why he entered the hospital.”
The problems for Aska date back to May 17, when officers first arrested the performer and 37-year-old acquaintance Kasumi Tochinai for possessing stimulant drugs at her apartment in Tokyo in April.
Police served the singer with a fresh arrest warrant on May 27 for using stimulant drugs. During a search of his home, officers found 90 MDMA pills.
On July 22, the trial for Tochinai began at the Tokyo District Court. During the proceedings, she denied the charges against her.
Flash’s source says that Aska is far from the lone entertainer now using drugs.
“A model-turned-actress, the president of a big-name talent agency, the leader of a male idol group — the list is endless,” says the gangster.
For now, the Aska case has decimated drug revenue for the yakuza.
“But once the spotlight dims, it’ll pick back up,” the gangster assures.
Source: “‘Shimizu Kentaro ya Tashiro Masashi mo hakujo shinakatta’ okite ‘Aska wo kese!’ Shabu ruto bakuro ni boryokudan kanbu ga gekido,” Flash (Sept. 16, page 17)