First Trial For Drug Use
On December 9, 2001, he was arrested for peeping through the bathroom window of a man's house near his home in Kita-senzoku, Ōta, Tokyo by Den-en-chōfu police. According to the police station, the 32-year-old man he was spying on spotted Tashiro and ran after him for 300 meters wearing only a bath towel around his waist, eventually catching him and delivering him to the station. An eyewitness of this told that Tashiro put on a cap like a ski cap, spoke loudly "Forgive me" (許してくれ, yurushitekure?), "It was a misunderstanding" (勘違いだ, kanchigai da?) when he was caught and there was a camcorder in the vicinity of the scene recording. He was once released on bail without punishment.
However, he was rearrested for possession and use of amphetamine on December 12, 2001. The seven police detectives carried out a home search in Tashiro's house as a corroborative investigation into his Peeping Tom incident and discovered a bag containing 0.4 ~ 0.9g of speed. Tashiro stated that "I bought it" but how he used it was unknown because a syringe used to inject drugs was not discovered in the home search. He was detained as a suspect by the police station from aftermath of his arrest until February 1 of the next year. As a result, he was dismissed by MTM Production on the same day because of repeated scandals.
On December 28, 2001, he was prosecuted for the violation of Stimulant Drugs Control Law. He testified about it that "I used drugs to get rid of stress and tension before appearing on a TV program" for the investigation by Tokyo District Prosecution Office. He also talked that "I lived confined to the house and I began to worry. From about this April, I used it once every few days". According to an indictment, he warmed amphetamine over a fire and absorbed it in his home's video room.
His first trial for drug use and others was in Tokyo District Court on February 1, 2002. Judgement was given on the case in the same court on February 8, 2002, where he was found guilty. However, he was given 3 years suspended sentence of 2 years imprisonment.
In spring 2002, he returned to the entertainment world as director of V-Cinema series such as "The Way of the Whales" (鯨道, kujira-michi?).
In 2003 he made a recorded guest appearance in TBS's "Sunday Japon" (サンデージャポン, sandē japon?) on New Year's Eve. This is his last public appearance in a television program to date.
Read more about this topic: Masashi Tashiro
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