Genki Life Magazine 35 - Spring 2019

Some of us may have played the video game
Yakuza (Ryū ga Gotoku) back in the day.
Wasn’t it fun paying a gangster going around
kicking butt? But having fun in a video games
doesn’t always translate to real life situations. Back
in the middle of March, veteran Japanese actor and
musician Pierre Taki (Taki Masanori) was arrested
for using cocaine. Taki was best know as one have
of 90s synth-pop duo of Denki Groove. He had a
major role in the upcoming game Judge Eyes: Shinigami
no Yuigon, scheduled to be released in Western
countries this June as Judgement.
As for most people form around the world,
they’re not aware that Japan has a robust entertainment
industry. Only the few people how are either
fans of anime or J-pop are aware of how large the
industry actually is. Japan is one those counties
that tend to be a little more lenient on celebrity dug
use. But when a well-known entertainer get caught
for the use or possession of narcotics, they become
the center of the media. Japan’s Narcotics Control
Department searched the home of Pierre Taki
Actor Pierre Taki compared to his game
character Kyōhei Hamura.
from information given to investigators. He tested
positive for cocaine use after voluntarily giving a
urine sample.
Judge Eyes is the latest video game released by
developer Sega. Pierre Taki’s role in the game is
boss of the fictional Matsugane-gumi syndicate
Kyōhei Hamura. As the voice actor for the character,
he is also modeled after Taki. After the arrest
of Taki, Sega halted sales of the video game from
their website and released the public statement:
“The arrest of Pierre Taki, who is featured in our
Genki Life Magazine • Spring 2019
company’s title Judge Eyes, is something we find
deeply regrettable.
We have heard the reports of his arrest, and are
currently confirming the facts of the situation, but
in the meantime, we have decided to voluntarily
halt shipments of physical copies of the game as
well as digital sales, and also to remove the game
from our company website. We apologize for any
trouble this causes our customers or other concerned
parties.”
The sale of Judge Eyes will not be permanent
pending the outcome of the case. It not also known
whether or not the Western release date will also
be affected. While the physical copy of the game
that was released back on December 13 th , 2018, is
still being sold, stores will be selling what’s left in
their stock. No new physical copies will available,
again, pending the case.
Pierre Taki also voices the character Olaf from
the Japanese dubbed version of Disney’s Frozen as
well as in Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts III. These
companies had not made any public announcement
whether or not they will also be suspending
sales of these merchandise. v
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