Japanese Pop Producer Arrested for Fraud

Tetsuya Komuro, one of the most successful producers in Japanese pop music history, was today arrested on suspicion of fraud, as it emerged that the impresario had squandered billions of yen he earned in the 1990s.

Komuro, who dominated the J-Pop scene with bands such as TRF and Globe, is alleged to have swindled an investor out of 500m yen in 2006 by selling him the rights to music he did not own.

Television footage showed investigators marching into Komuro's luxury apartment in Tokyo, while he was in Osaka, where the 49-year-old was shown being driven from a hotel in tears.

Avex Group Holdings, the label behind Komuro's most successful acts, said it "very much regretted" his arrest.

Police quoted Komuro as admitting the allegations: "I have no excuses," he said. "I want to apologize to the victim and I'm ready to have the grace to face a criminal charge."

According to reports, the investor agreed to make a 550m down payment for the copyrights to 806 of Komuro's songs, even though the producer knew the rights were not his to sell.

The arrest marks a dramatic fall from grace for the celebrity producer, whose knack at spotting budding pop talent generated more than 170m CD sales and made him one of Japan's richest men in the mid-90s.

While his acts sold millions of CDs in Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan, they were practically unheard of elsewhere.

The peroxide blond Komuro was never given to moderation: he drove Ferraris and owned villas in Hawaii, Bali and Malibu, and once boasted to a tabloid newspaper, "As my bankbook only shows up to 10 digits, I've lost track of my money."

At the height of his wealth he spent 20m yen reserving the entire first-class cabin on a flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles.

In 2000 Namie Amuro, one of Komuro's most popular acts, performed his song Never End for Tony Blair and other world leaders at the G8 summit in Okinawa. Komuro also co-wrote Together Now, the theme tune for the 1998 World Cup with the French musician Jean-Michel Jarre.

Komuro, who launched his music career in 1984 as a keyboard player with the group TM Network, is understood to have fallen into debt after a series of failed overseas business deals and an expensive divorce.

Avex said it had canceled the planned release of two CDs later this year that were intended to herald his comeback as a producer.