Tokyo police on Wednesday arrested Terumi Ogura, 78, a former star of the all-female musical theater troupe the Takarazuka Revue, on suspicion of defrauding a fan out of ¥10 million.
Authorities allege that in April 2019, Ogura, who currently goes by the stage name Emika Mitsuhara, deceived a female acquaintance in her 70s to invest ¥10 million by telling her a lie that she was planning to produce a movie. Ogura also promised to repay the money by selling her home in Tokyo’s wealthy Denenchofu district, according to the police.
Instead, the funds were used to finance a dinner show, police said.
Ogura denies the charges, claiming she intended to return the money. The victim, a longtime fan who first met Ogura during a performance decades ago, had been assisting her with organizing dinner shows.
According to her official website, Ogura debuted in 1963 under the stage name Takiko Dai after graduating from Takarazuka Music School, rising to the top star of Takarazuka's Moon troupe before leaving in 1976. She has since been active in dinner and charity shows.