Womanising Japanese ‘Don Juan’ dead – and police suspect murder
Elderly playboy Kosuke Nozaki was found by his 22-year-old wife collapsed in the bedroom of their home
Police have launched a murder inquiry after an elderly businessman who declared himself to be “Japan’s Don Juan” was found dead.
Investigators have questioned the man’s new wife and employees of his company after finding illegal narcotics in his bloodstream.
Kosuke Nozaki, 77, was found by his 22-year-old wife collapsed in the bedroom of their home in the town of Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture, central Japan, on the evening of May 24, the Mainichi newspaper reported.
Nozaki had only married his wife – who has not been named in media reports – in February.
Nozaki was later pronounced dead at a local hospital and, as no external injuries were apparent, it had initially been assumed that his death was natural, although a subsequent autopsy detected narcotics in his body.
Cause of death was later confirmed to be acute circulation failure, possibly brought on by the drugs. In a bestselling book about his romantic adventures, Nozaki had declared that he never used stimulant drugs.
The owner of a company that sold alcohol across central Japan as well as firms that provided financial advice and another in the real estate sector, Nozaki shot to fame in 2016 with the publication of his autobiography, The Don Juan of Kishu: The Man Who Gave 3 Billion Yen to 4,000 Beautiful Women.
Likening himself to the legendary European playboy, Nozaki described in the book how he lavished millions of dollars worth of gifts on the various women in his life.
He became a frequent speaker on television chat shows and was interviewed repeatedly for magazines probing for the secrets of his success with women.
Police have since searched the Nozakis’ home and offices, stating that they were treating the case as murder.
All employees of his various companies have been asked to provide urine samples to police.
Nozaki’s demise has been greeted with differing degrees of sympathy on online forums.
One poster on the Japan Today website said: “Dying within four months of a sudden rushed marriage to a 20-something woman, of course it sounds suspicious.”
Another contributor was more laudatory in his comments, however, adding: “Well done old boy, enjoy your rest. At 77 years old, with a 20-year-old hottie and dying in his own house – kudos!”
