In today’s edition of life imitates art: talent agency Yoshimoto Kogyo Co. has just suspended Yakuza 6 actor Hiroyuki Miyasako. Miyasako, who is also a well-known comedian, is part of the cast of Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, where he plays Tsuyoshi Nagamo, captain of the Hirose Family of Onomichi.
According to a report by The Japan Times, Miyasako along with 10 other comedians were discovered to be conducting “underground business” by attending & providing entertainment at a party hosted by an organized crime group in Japan. Reports from police further state that the comedians including Miyasako accepted money for their attendance from the crime group, which is purportedly involved in money transfer fraud. The party in question happened five years ago.
The agency said, “Although (the comedians) were not aware it was a gathering hosted by an antisocial group, we still consider it a very serious matter that they accepted money from such a group.”
Miyasako has also issued a public apology when this issue came to light, saying, “I deeply regret accepting the money, even if it was indirectly.” Since this issue, he has been edited out of scenes in the TV shows he has appeared in and his other shows have been put in indefinite hiatus. Public broadcast channel NHK has also ceased to air all of its TV programs that involved the 11 suspended comedians.
The question now is if Miyasako will also suffer the same fate in Yakuza 6. To refresh your memory, a similar case happened with actor Pierre Taki in the Judgement game, a spin-off of Yakuza. When Taki was suspected of drug use (because remember, drugs are a huge no-no in Japan), Sony stopped all sales of Judgement in Japan and replaced the voice and likeness used for his character Kyohei Hamura. It remains to be seen if Miyasako will be pulled out of Yakuza 6—after all, his character Tsuyoshi is albeit a minor one.
Source: IGN