Sega suspends Japanese sale of Judgment over voice actor’s alleged drug use

Sega suspends Japanese sales of Judge Eyes game after actor Pierre Taki has been arrested in Japan on suspicion of cocaine use. He has recorded the lyrics for the character Kyohei Hamura. This game should be released in the West in June with the name Judgment.

In a short statement on its own Japanese site, Sega regrets that Pierre Taki has been arrested. The company says it has received reports of the arrest and is currently investigating the facts. In the meantime, Sega has decided to suspend deliveries and sales of Judge Eyes. Tweets about the game will also be deleted.

Created by the studio behind the Yakuza games, this game will be released in the West on June 25 under the title Judgment and has been available in Japan since December last year. It is not yet known how this decision by Sega for the Japanese market will affect the upcoming Western release. The BBC, among others, has asked a question about this, but Sega has not yet responded.

Taki admitted to using a small amount of cocaine in Tokyo earlier this week, according to the Japan Times. The newspaper relies on a regional office of the Japanese drugs authority of the miniseries of Health. During a search nothing would have been found, but a urine sample taken would have provided evidence of the drug use. In the meantime, Taki is said to be in prison pending the hearing of his criminal case. In Japan, the use or possession of cocaine carries a maximum penalty of seven years.

Pierre Taki, 51, whose real name is Masanori Taki, is part of the techno-pop duo Denki Groove and also works as a voice actor. In that capacity, he not only recorded the texts of a character from Judgment, but also, for example, those of snowman Olaf from the Japanese version of the Disney film Frozen and in Kingdom Hearts III. Asahi newspaper reports that Walt Disney in Japan is considering replacing the actor in the sequel to Frozen, which will be released in Japan later this year.

Japan has a strict policy on illegal drugs. In that context, the actor Hiroki Narimiya was already replaced last year as the voice actor of a character from Yakuza 4, because he was also suspected of cocaine use at that time. The character Masayoshi Tanimura got a different voice actor and even a slightly different haircut.