If you drink, you should drink responsibly. That’s a lesson that one Japanese actor will likely be reflecting on after he made the fatal decision to over-imbibe after signing a beer commercial contract.
Actor Yoshizawa Ryo (30) has a long repertoire of dramas, movies, and – yes – commercials dating back to 2011. He may be best known for his appearances in Kamen Rider Fourze and his roles in Gintama, BLEACH, and Kingdom.
Police say that, on December 30th, the actor entered an apartment in his condominium building that wasn’t his. Police called to the scene found an apparently drunk Yoshizawa, who says he couldn’t remember entering the room. (Yoshizawa didn’t force his way in; the door was apparently unlocked.)
Yoshizawa’s agency, Amuse, issued a formal apology on his behalf and said the star had also apologized to his fellow resident. However, that hasn’t been the end of the fallout.
It seems Yoshizawa had an active contract with Asahi Beer to promote their Asahi Dry Crystal. That contract, however, is now null and void.
“The Yoshizawa Ryo incident isn’t a fact, as an alcohol company, of which we can approve,” the company said in a statement saying that it had severed its contract with the star.
Some on Japanese social media are calling the backlash to the incident too severe, saying the incident is a simple drunken mistake. Some even blamed the person in the other apartment (“Why was their door unlocked?”)
Others, however, note that Asahi Beer, as an alcohol company, likely had little choice. Security consultant Kyoshi Mika says Asahi was well within its rights to terminate Yoshizawa’s contract, given that he committed an illegal act – whether intentional or not. “If we let acts like this become normalized,” she argues, “it’s bound to happen again.”
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