Popular TV personality Shinsuke Shimada and his agency Yoshimoto Creative Agency Co. hastily called a news conference on the night of Aug. 23 to announce his retirement from the entertainment industry, effective immediately, because of his relationship with a gangster.
TV stations reported the retirement of Mr. Shimada, one of Japan's highest-paid TV program hosts, as the top news item.
According to investigative sources, Mr. Jiro Watanabe, a former super flyweight world boxing champion who became a yakuza member, served as a go-between for Mr. Shimada and the gangster, and the latter helped resolve trouble that Mr. Shimada had had with a rightist group over a remark he made during a TV program more than 10 years ago.