August 09, 2009
Not armed and not dangerous
On Friday, the Japanese news media (including the staid NHK) decided that the "first jury trial in over 50 years" was yesterday's news (the defendant got 15 years and the jurors opined that "it wasn't as complicated as they make it look in TV dramas," probably because few crimes are as complicated as in TV dramas).
So they switched to wall-to-wall coverage of pop singer Noriko Sakai, who skedaddled after her husband got nabbed for drug possession. The missing persons case turned into a manhunt when it turned out that, thanks to DNA (!) analysis, Ms. Sakai had used the drug paraphernalia in her husband's possession.
She was arrested Saturday night (she says her husband made her do it). What a relief. It's safe once again to go out at night.
In an if-it-bleeds-it-leads media culture, a country's state of affairs can't be all that bad off when the national news leads with breathless coverage of a cute, drug-snorting "idol" on the lam. (Among other things, Noriko Sakai did the theme song for Video Girl Ai. Hey, I own the soundtrack and the DVD!)
Peter Payne posted this perfect poster.
So they switched to wall-to-wall coverage of pop singer Noriko Sakai, who skedaddled after her husband got nabbed for drug possession. The missing persons case turned into a manhunt when it turned out that, thanks to DNA (!) analysis, Ms. Sakai had used the drug paraphernalia in her husband's possession.
She was arrested Saturday night (she says her husband made her do it). What a relief. It's safe once again to go out at night.
In an if-it-bleeds-it-leads media culture, a country's state of affairs can't be all that bad off when the national news leads with breathless coverage of a cute, drug-snorting "idol" on the lam. (Among other things, Noriko Sakai did the theme song for Video Girl Ai. Hey, I own the soundtrack and the DVD!)
Peter Payne posted this perfect poster.
Labels: japan, law, nhk, pop culture
Comments
I always wondered where Light Yagami was finding all those multiple-murderer criminals to write in his Death Note. Or if he was in some pre-Ghost in the Shell or World of Darkness alternate Japan.
Patrick West sums it up well: "If the Western world's murder rate in TV fiction were reflected in reality, Mogadishu would be an attractive holiday destination." Though murder mysteries set in Japan are an additional order of magnitude more absurd than even the absurdly crime-ridden Oxford of Inspector Morse.