Kabuki actor Nakamura Shichinosuke, who played the emperor in the Hollywood movie "The Last Samurai," was arrested Sunday in Tokyo for allegedly punching a police officer after a taxi driver complained to the officer that he did not pay for his ride.
The 21-year-old actor, the second son of popular kabuki actor Nakamura Kankuro, 49, admitted to the allegations and offered an apology, saying he did not exactly remember what happened because he was drunk, according to the police.
Shichinosuke, whose real name is Takayuki Namino, got out of the taxi at around 6:30 a.m. in Bunkyo Ward without paying the fare of several thousand yen, and the driver complained at a nearby police box.
The 24-year-old officer grabbed Shichinosuke by the arm, and the actor turned and hit him in the face, damaging his glasses, the police alleged.
Shichinosuke paid the taxi fare after he was arrested, they said.
"Maybe I raised him the wrong way," Kankuro told a news conference Sunday evening. "I'd never thought he was so stupid. I am really angry."
