News

Kamikaze Girls Author Booked for Cannabis Possession

Toshiaki Takemoto, the 39-year-old author who wrote the novel inspiration for the Kamikaze Girls manga and live-action film under the pen-name Novala Takemoto, was arrested in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward for violating Japan's Cannabis Control Law on Monday. An affidavit stated that Takemoto allegedly "began smoking cannabis overseas out of curiosity. [He] also carried it back to Japan." Dried cannabis (marijuana) and smoking paraphernalia were reported to have been found during a search of his home.

Takemoto is suspected of concealing 0.22 grams of dried cannabis in the right pocket of his trousers while he was on a road in the Kabukicho entertainment district of Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on Sunday at around 5:15 p.m. A Shinjuku officer on patrol questioned him and discovered the cannabis.

The Kyoto-born Takemoto dropped out of the Osaka University of Arts before he began serializing his "Soleilnuit" essay column in a free Osaka newspaper in 1998. His writings on girls' interests and fashion led to his self-description as a man with "the charisma of otome (young ladies)." He published his first novel, Missin' in 2000, and an essay collection entitled Soleilnuit: For Becoming a Proper Young Lady in 2001. In 2002, he wrote Shimotsuma Monogatari, the novel that inspired the manga and film released under the English title Kamikaze Girls. He eventually started a Pour Lolita lolita-gothic tie-in with the Hello Kitty brand and the Baby, the Stars Shine Bright clothing boutique chain.

Baby, the Stars Shine Bright has since removed all mention of Takemoto and his Pour Lolita line from its website. Takemoto's personal website has been taken offline with only the following two lines:

"Notice:

We deeply apologize, but this homepage is being temporarily placed on hiatus."

Thank you to dormcat for the news tip.

Source: Asahi Shimbun