Yakuza, drugs, ‘slave’ contracts: how Japanese TV star Rola became latest victim of a murky celebrity industry
Scandal-hit Japanese model-cum-actress is not the first to learn the pitfalls of taking on an entertainment industry that enjoys close links to the criminal underworld
For a decade, she has smiled, sung, pouted and been the face of countless television shows and advertisements, making Rola one of the most recognisable tarento celebrities in Japan. Her career trajectory is what every young wannabe starting out in this nation’s voracious entertainment industry would love to emulate.
But her sudden fall from grace is a salutary reminder of the pitfalls that are the less well known side of the industry.
From being a perky-but-ditsy mainstay of Japan’s television tarento (foreign celebrity) scene six months ago, Rola has moved to the covers of the tabloids amid allegations that her agency has engaged in blackmail, financial chicanery and even plied her with prescription drugs to keep its most lucrative name on its books.
The weekly news magazine Shukan Bunshun has reported that the hugely popular 27-year-old actress-singer-model-television talent is locked into a 10-year “slave-like” contract with her agency, Libera Production.
An industry insider and personal friend of Rola, who is an exotic addition to screens here because of her Bengali, Japanese and Russian heritage, told This Week in Asia she was “on the verge of a breakdown”.
