Naked Arrest Spurs Sympathy For SMAP Star

What’s wrong with being naked?

That’s what a Japanese TV star asked police who arrested him for public indecency when he was found drunk, naked and screaming in a Tokyo park in the early hours of the morning last week.

His words struck a chord with the public and have now become the slogan on a new range of T-shirts sold by online retailer ClubT.

“They are definitely selling,” said company spokeswoman Nanako Shibuya, who said she could not give precise figures.

Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, 34, who shot to fame 20 years ago as a member of boy band SMAP, resisted arrest and was bundled into a police vehicle wrapped in a blanket, media reports said.  Police questioned him at length and also searched his home.

Prosecutors decided not to charge Kusanagi, media reports said.

But the incident has sparked sympathy for Kusanagi. Many Japanese complained the slight, serious-looking actor was treated too harshly, especially after he appeared close to tears during a news conference he called to apologise for his behaviour.

One fan threatened online to attack the Akasaka police station where he was held, the Asahi newspaper reported.

More coverage: http://alindenauer.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/star-found-naked-in-park/

SMAP Star Found Naked In Park

Media helicopters hovered overhead and photographers camped out in front of Japan’s top talent agency after one of television’s cleanest-cut stars was arrested for public indecency.

Tsuyoshi Kusanagi of the pop group SMAP was found drunk and naked in a public park in Tokyo, his agency said in a statement.  He was alone and shrieking at the top of his voice, media reports said.

“What’s wrong with being naked?”  he demanded of a police officer who tried to question him after receiving a complaint about the noise, Kyodo news agency said.

Kusanagi, 34, shot to fame almost 20 years ago as a member of SMAP, the popular boy band whose five members have gone on to monopolise Japanese TV screens in everything from drama to variety and even cookery shows.

The slender Kusanagi is seen as perhaps the most serious of the five, known for his acting skills and fluency in Korean, which brought him fame in South Korea.

“He has such a clean image,” one woman told commercial broadcaster TBS.  ”He doesn’t seem like that kind of person.”

Kusanagi’s agency, Johnny & Associates, a big name in the Japanese entertainment world, issued an apology.

“We apologise deeply for the trouble and worry caused to everyone, especially his fans,” the agency said in a statement.