Voyeurism Incident
On September 24, 2000, he was sent to the prosecutor's office for filming up a woman's skirt with a camcorder in Tokyu Toyoko Line Toritsudaigaku Station in Meguro, Tokyo. When he was asked why he had done it at a news conference on October 4 of the same year, he claimed that he had been producing a comic film called "Mini ni tako ga dekiru" (ミニにタコができる?), a pun on the similar Japanese pronunciations for "mini" (ミニ?, miniskirt) and "mimi" (耳?, ear) and the two meanings of "tako" (callus and octopus) based on the Japanese saying "mimi ni tako ga dekiru" (耳にタコができる?, literally "I have a callus in my ear "). The "mini ni tako" remark became infamous in the Japanese news media.
In December 2000, he was fined 50,000 yen (about 430 USD) for the voyeurism.
He was barred from working in the entertainment industry temporarily by his entertainment agency, MTM Productions, and his comment was "I wish miniskirts were obliterated from the Earth." While he was barred, he did volunteer work such as carrying the wash and serving meals in a nursing home 3 days a week. On June 28, 2001, he announced his return to the entertainment world by saying, "Please give Masashi Tashiro one more chance." (もう1度だけ田代まさしを、よろしくお願い致します?)
In July 2001 he appeared as a guest on television programs such as "Downtown DX," "Guruguru Ninety-Nine" (ぐるぐるナインティナイン?) and "Mecha-Mecha Iketeru!" (めちゃ2イケてるッ!?). He also returned as part of the regular cast in "Shimura Ken no Bakatono-sama" (志村けんのバカ殿様?). In order to become a regular in another program, "HAMADA COMPANY Dangan! Heroes" (HAMADA COMPANY 弾丸!ヒーローズ?), he was challenged to travel from Tokyo to Okinawa without being discovered by anyone. He lost the contest when he was found out in Kyoto and 100 pictures of him were taken, but the public liked his stunt and his popularity soared back.
Read more about this topic: Masashi Tashiro
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