Forgive the graphic title. It was posted on another website as a metaphor for the big showbiz story of the weekend. Former actor and talento Haga Kenji was arrested on Saturday for extortion. As if just to make the story even more colorful, also arrested were a former world boxing champion and a senior member of the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza family. What a bunch!
 
Haga has always been a scumbag and he and Umemiya Anna made the perfect couple, with their scandals and nude photo book. I always thought it was better that they make each other's lives miserable than inflict their egos on other innocents. But unfortunately they split up and ended up marrying other unwary bystanders. Umemiya got herself pregnant, married and divorced in a matter of months. the only one I feel sorry for is the kid.
 
Haga amassed huge debts but then used his sleazy charm selling expensive jewelry to middle-aged women and paid off all his debts. Then he got married to some unknown in Hawaii at the end of last year. Had we misjudged him? Did he have some character after all?
 
Nah, turns out he paid off his debts by strong-arming a rich real estate pal out of hundreds of millions and then using his yakuza connections to seal the deal. I seriously hope he gets put away. It might just straighten him out. Otherwise the subtitle of his blog above may well turn out to be spot on: Neverending Story!
 
The full story in our Japanese Entertainment News section

Here's the latest development in this case, which is now at the Tokyo Osaka District Court.
 
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(see the link in the story for an earlier update)

Here's another update. I think this was the last court hearing before the verdict is handed down. With Haga and Watanabe reportedly unrepentant, they're almost certainly going to do hard time. Remember Japanese courts have a conviction rate of around 99%!
 
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Well, here's a real turn up for the books. It looks like Haga Kenji and Watanabe Jiro have fallen into the tiny 1% of people who actually get a verdict of "not guilty" in a Japanese court room. I have major doubts about any court system with that kind of success rate but I really though Haga was going down for this one. But would he really be welcomed back into the geino world? I just can't see it. A book, or even a movie, seems much more likely. A year and a half in detention don't seem to have taken too much of a toll on him - compare the photo at the top of this page with the one below, taken as he left the court yesterday.
 
This from today's entertainment news update:
 

Former talento Haga Kenji (47) and former world boxing champion Watanabe Jiro (53) have both been acquitted on charges of fraud and attempted extortion at the Osaka District Court. The two were arrested a year and five months ago on charges of swindling some ¥370 million from a private investor. They were accused of selling the man shares in a medical consulting company at a hugely inflated price and then threatening him when he tried to get his money back after the company went bankrupt. Prosecutors had sought a sentence of eight years and four months for both the accused. The court case began in January, with both men proclaiming their innocence, and ended in May. But lawyers succeeded in having the case reopened for further examination of witnesses, insisting that the alleged victim had known the true value of the shares he bought. In reading out the "not guilty" verdict on Friday, the judge said there had been reasonable doubt regarding the alleged victim's testimony. On hearing the verdict, a tearful Haga turned to his wife Mayu (31) - the two were married only eight months at the time of Haga'a arrest. As Haga himself said to reporters after leaving the court, it is extremely rare for a Japanese court case to end in a verdict of not guilty. He is said to be in discussions with his former management agency about a possible return to show business.   Earlier stories: Haga Kenji Arrested on Extortion Charges Haga Kenji, Watanabe Jiro Extortion Case Starts   Keep up to date with our Japanese Entertainment News section