Actor Hagiwara Busted for Extortion

[Mulboyne]

Thread imported from Tokyo DV for follow-up post:

Kyodo via Japan Today: Actor Hagiwara arrested for attempted extortion
Police arrested actor Kenichi Hagiwara on suspicion of attempting to extort money from a film producer he worked with, police said Monday. Hagiwara, 54, known by the nickname "Shoken," allegedly intimidated the producer in June last year to obtain 7.5 million yen, half his performance fee for a film, the sources said. Hagiwara was originally cast to play the lead in the movie "Toukou no Ki" for 15 million yen and received half of the money as an advance fee. The sources said that soon after the shooting of the film began in August 2003, Hagiwara caused trouble with staff members, prompting the film producer to replace him with another actor, citing "abusive language" repeatedly used by Hagiwara. After the film was completed in June last year, Hagiwara called the producer, 66, on the phone. Police believe Hagiwara dropped the name of a designated crime syndicate during the conversation, intimidating the producer into paying the rest of the performance fee.

[Mulboyne]

Shukan Post via Japan Today: Hagiwara's arrest for attempted extortion may boost his career
...Hagaiwara's manager said the actor will spend this year planning his comeback at the beginning of next year. "He is going to launch the Shoken fashion brand; he will be its image character and also help manage the brand. I don't think his arrest will have a negative effect on this new project; in fact, it will probably help the publicity." As for the movie, his manager smiled and said, "Even in this situation, there are many people who see his point of view. Hagiwara won't be the loser from this sort of scandal." This latest incident is Hagiwara's fourth arrest. The first three times were for possession of marijuana, driving under the influence and causing a car accident resulting in injury. He beat the rap on all three occasions, proving as resilient as his character in his most famous movie "Kizudarake no Tenshi" (Angel With cuts and bruises), so the Shoken brand might be a lucky bet.