Smack is supposed to be for hardcore junkies such as Keith Richard, Miles Davis and Kurt Cobain. Picturing her freebasing is as disturbing as any image Edison Chen left on his computer.

Not more than a couple of days after Vidal's guilty ruling, one of Japan's own icons was discovered doing something equally scandalous by that nation's rigid formal standard. The previously squeaky clean Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, the most popular solo artist from the country's number one boy band Smap, was found early one morning in a public park drunk, naked and shouting abuse at anyone and everyone. Neighbours called police around 3am and they arrested the singer. There goes his nice guy image and about a zillion yen worth of advertising contracts.

A few days later, Kusanagi held an apologetic press conference, bowing deeply in disgrace and begging for forgiveness. 'I drank way too much and lost control of myself, and I behaved in a way that is an embarrassment to any adult. I deeply regret what happened and I apologise sincerely.'

He added he has no other recollection of the evening. In that respect, he's lucky that all he did was shout like a fool and streak in a park. Other drunks have woken up to discover they committed worse actions and crimes.

Korean celebrities haven't escaped the Nippon curse this week. In Seoul, popular model-turned-actor Joo Ji-hoon was arrested for drug use. Soon after, warrants were also issued for actress Yun Seol-hee and model Ye Hak-young for allegedly smuggling ecstasy tablets and ketamine into Korea from - you guessed it - Japan. The controversy is the talk of the town as apparently the unreleased list of suspected entertainment pill-poppers is much larger. One police officer theorised that artists are tempted to use the drugs as appetite suppressants to keep their weight down. Of course, being young and rich, they could just be taking pills for the mind-altering fun of it. Ironically, Joo's career was about to blossom like the sakura in Japan. He was scheduled to visit fans in Tokyo this month and had signed on to make a movie called Tokyo Tower. That role has now gone to another actor.

Arguably, these various indiscretions can all be blamed on youth and the abuse of intoxicating substances. However, it's hard to rationalise the bizarre words coming out of a seasoned professional like Jackie Chan. At the recent Boao Forum, a conference for Asian business and government delegates, the Hong Kong star rambled on about how too free a society is not necessarily a good thing. 'I'm not sure if it's good to have freedom or not,' Chan said. 'If you're too free, you're like the way Hong Kong is now. It's very chaotic. Taiwan is also chaotic ... I'm gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we're not being controlled, we'll just do what we want.'

Gosh, people doing whatever they please - what a terrible thing. It's not the first time Chan has high-kicked his foot into his mouth. He suggested the 2004 Taiwanese election was the biggest joke in the world after pro-independence candidate Chen Shui-bian was re-elected president (in hindsight, maybe Chan knew something we didn't). Then a few years ago, the Rush Hour actor got liquored up and jumped up on stage during another singer's concert and berated the band and the audience.

No, not his best moment, but the Drunken Master is only human. I suppose it's a coincidence his latest film, shot in Japan, is called Shinjuku Incident.

If I was superstitious man, I'd say the fung shui in Japan has been especially bad for people in the entertainment business