One doesn't have to be an ardent news junkie to know that drugs and drug busts featured prominently in Japan's headlines this year. From soldiers to pop stars, 2009 will be remembered as a year of disillusionment for many of the Japanese public regarding the "purity" of their heroes.
Still reeling from the marijuana scandal that began with Russian sumo stars in 2008, the search for other pot-smoking wrestlers continued in January, resulting in the first native Japanese to fall victim to the purge (he apparently smoked blunts). All wrestlers were subjected to a number of drug tests, most of which produced nothing. As the scandal unfolded, coverage of Japan's "Reefer Madness" grew, with statistics showing that use of and arrests involving the devil weed were on the rise in the archipelago. Interestingly enough, as Jake Adelstein explains, it's not a crime to use marijuana in Japan, but it is a crime to possess it (a retired cop once told him "don't smoke more than you can eat").
Not the case with "stimulants," the catch-all phrase used for hard synthetic drugs and the real source of Japan's drug problems. The stoner sumo fiasco was completely overshadowed this summer by two stories that continue to reverberate across country. Two celebrities – Noriko Sakai and Manabu Oshio – were accused of using meth and ecstasy, respectively. Both cases were a muckracker's wet dream, made even more tantalizing to the press when placed in context. On the surface, Oshio's story was the juiciest, since he had allegedly shared his stash with a bar hostess, who subsequently died of unknown causes. If that wasn't enough to pique national interest, the event in question happened in a swank Roppongi Hills apartment owned by Mika Noguchi, the founder of lingerie giant, Peach John, Japan's answer to Victoria's Secret.