Japanese icon Takeshi Kitano’s car attacked
TOKYO, Sept 6, (AP): Tokyo police have arrested a man who allegedly attacked a car carrying Japanese entertainment icon Takeshi Kitano with a pickax, though nobody was injured, according to media reports.
The 74-year-old director and actor, also known by his stage name Beat Takeshi, was in the car with his driver and was just leaving the compound of TBS television network after his weekly live talk show Saturday night, TBS and other Japanese media reported Sunday.
The suspect allegedly smashed Kitano’s car several times with a pickax, demanding Takeshi get out of the car, TBS reported. A security guard called police and the suspect was arrested at the scene, reports said.
The suspect is a man in his 40s and was also carrying a knife with a 10-centimeter (4inch) blade, according to media reports, including Kyodo News and TBS.
Tokyo police on Monday refused to confirm the reports, though they did say that a suspect was arrested on suspicion of illegal possession of weapons.
TBS said the suspect told police that he got angry after he was ignored in June when he kneeled down before Kitano’s car seeking help to let him join the entertainment industry. Police are investigating the suspect’s motives, reports said.
Multi-talented Kitano is also active as a comedian, actor and writer. He won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for “Hana-Bi” in 1997 and has also directed other popular films including “Zatoichi,” “Sonatine,” and “Outrage.”
Meanwhile, Chinese social media platform Weibo banned a fan club of popular South Korean K-pop band BTS from posting for 60 days, saying it had raised funds illegally, days after photographs of a customized airplane funded by the fan club were posted online.
The fan club account, which had over 1.1 million followers on Weibo, was centered around BTS member Jimin. The restrictions imposed on the account came amid China’s campaign to clean up the entertainment industry and clamp down on “irrational behavior” exhibited by fans.
Attention
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for a “national rejuvenation” with tighter Communist Party control of business, education, culture and religion.
The party has since reduced children’s access to online games and is trying to discourage what it sees as unhealthy attention toward celebrities. Last week, the government banned effeminate men on TV and banned idol development shows for their “low moral values” that could be a bad influence on the youth.
The BTS fan account was banned from posting on Weibo after images circulated online last week of a customized airplane from Jeju Air with images of Jimin on it. The customized airplane was part of the club’s plans to celebrate his 26th birthday in October.
The stunt drew swift criticism online for its excess. Following the backlash, the account issued a statement last week on its feed urging fans to be “rational” when chasing celebrities for a “harmonious and healthy internet environment.”
Weibo said in a statement Sunday that the group has been banned from posting for 60 days after it was found to have raised funds illegally.
“Weibo firmly opposes such irrational star-chasing behavior and will deal with it seriously,” the statement said.
The fan club began raising money in April to prepare for the birthday celebrations, according to stateowned media Global Times, with over 1 million yuan ($150,000) raised in the first three minutes of the fundraising activity and 2.3 million yuan ($360,000) in the first hour.
The club also planned to run advertisements celebrating Jimin’s birthday in newspapers like The New York Times.
It is not uncommon for K-pop fans worldwide to celebrate the birthdays of their favorite celebrities by taking out advertisements in newspapers and billboards or customizing public transport vehicles with images of their idols.
Many fans also fundraise to donate to charitable causes such as funding education for the underprivileged or sponsoring wild animals in stars’ names as part of such celebrations.
Weibo also said in a separate statement on Sunday that it banned 21 other fan accounts for 30 days for posting “irrational star-chasing” content. The banned fan accounts were mostly centered around K-pop celebrities, such as members of South Korean boy bands NCT and EXO, and girl group Blackpink.
Celebrities in China are often pressured to conform to values espoused by the Chinese government or face the repercussions. Celebrities such as Fan Bingbing and Zheng Shuang have been fined heavily for evading taxes, and popular actress Zhao Wei last week had her name removed from credits of films and TV shows she had starred in without explanation.
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BEIJING: Chinese singer and actor Lu Han, a former member of popular K-pop boy band EXO, said Sunday he would cut ties with Swiss luxury watch brand Audemars Piguet after its CEO referred to Taiwan as a country in an interview.
China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, objects to any reference to the self-governing island as a country. Under the one-country policy, other countries have diplomatic relations with either China or Taiwan, but not both.
In a video circulating online, the watch brand’s CEO François-Henry Bennahmias referred to Taiwan as an “ultra-modern, high-tech country” in an interview.
Lu has been an ambassador for Audemars Piguet since 2018. A statement posted by Lu’s studio said he and his team urged the watch brand to apologize in both Chinese and English but failed to reach an agreement with the company, leading Lu to cut ties.
“National interests are above all else, Ltu Han and Lu Han’s studio will defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the statement read.
It wasn’t immediately clear what the source of their disagreement was. Audemars Piguet on Saturday had posted a Chinese statement on Weibo apologizing for its error.
“We apologize for the recent incorrect statement. Audemars Piguet has always adhered to the one-China position and firmly safeguarded China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the statement read.