<figure id="attachment_370494" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-370494" style="width: 2552px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a751722f"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/04/069f39d58ca5cb832539d7699d7fb1d3.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-370494" class="wp-caption-text">On March 19, 1994, Shizuka returned to Narita Airport from Los Angeles after a two-month &#8220;recharging period&#8221; (April 15, 1994 issue).</figcaption></figure>
<p> What did &#8220;FRIDAY&#8221; report 10, 20, or 30 years ago? In &#8220;Playback Friday,&#8221; we look back at the topics that were hot at the time. This time, we will look back at &#8221; <span class="strongInContent">YOSHIKI&#8217;s arrest,</span> &#8221; which appeared in the April 15, 1994 issue 30 years ago! YOSHIKI <span class="strongInContent">and Shizuka were living together in Los Angeles,&#8221;</span> which was published 30 years ago in the April 15, 1994 issue.</p>
<p> At the time, it was known that YOSHIKI (28 at the time) of &#8220;X JAPAN&#8221; had moved his base of activities to Los Angeles, but his personal life was shrouded in mystery. The shocking scoop is that YOSHKI (then 28) of &#8220;X JAPAN&#8221; was arrested for drunken driving, and at the same time, he was discovered to be &#8220;living together&#8221; with popular singer Shizuka Kudo (then 23). (Descriptions in parentheses below are taken from past articles.)</p>
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<h3><span class="strongInContent"> Her eyes were bloodshot and moist, and her face was bright red.</span></h3>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> &#8220;Hey, get out of the way, get out of the way!</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> On the evening of March 15, popular singer Shizuka Kudo stepped off the plane that arrived at Narita Airport from Los Angeles, California. She had returned to Japan on that day after a two-month &#8220;recharge&#8221; period in Los Angeles that began in January of this year.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> For some reason, however, the date and time of her return were kept a secret, and as mentioned earlier, several staff members were guarding the flight. There was even a scene in which the photographer of this magazine was threatened with &#8220;Why did you come here to take our picture? It is rare for someone to be so nervous about being photographed returning home.</span></p>
<p> It was only natural that Shizuka&#8217;s agency would be tense. This was because &#8220;an incident&#8221; had occurred during her stay in Los Angeles.</p>
<p> It happened just after 1 a.m. local time on March 10 on Sunset Boulevard, which runs through the heart of Los Angeles, when a black &#8217;86 Ferrari was driving along, honking its horn for 15 to 20 seconds, as if to stir up the car in front of it. The car was clearly acting abnormally as it drove dizzyingly out of its lane.</p>
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<p> When a patrol car stopped the Ferrari, YOSHIKI was in the driver&#8217;s seat and Shizuka was in the passenger seat. The police report described YOSHIKI&#8217;s condition at this time as follows.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> 《The driver (YOSHIKI) had a strong odor of alcoholic beverage on his breath. （When I shined a flashlight on his face, his eyes were bloodshot and moist, and his face was bright red. I told him to get out of the car and onto the sidewalk for an alcohol test. He was dizzy and stumbled as he stepped onto the sidewalk. He did not seem to understand English, but when I spoke slowly, he understood. After the test, it was determined that he could not drive because he had been drinking, so we arrested him.</span></p>
<p> That night, the two had a private party with about 10 staff members at a famous local Japanese restaurant in the city of Los Angeles from 10 pm to 1 am. A person with knowledge of the party testified, &#8220;It was a wild party.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" It was a wild party."></div>
<p><span class="strongInContent">That night was very exciting. YOSHIKI and Shizuka, in particular, were so drunk that the manager of the restaurant warned them to refrain from getting too close to each other, even in public. I even made the waiter go to the supermarket outside to buy Dom Perignon (a top-quality champagne) because the store did not have it.</span></p>
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<p> In the U.S., where skinship is more common than in Japan, it is hard to imagine how sticky they must have been to be warned in a private space. The two men got so excited that they got out of their seats and left the restaurant in a Ferrari, leaving the rest of their friends behind, which led to the arrest scene.</p>
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<p> Shizuka was reported by this magazine in December 1992 to be in love with actor Koji Matoba, but her encounter with YOSHKI goes back to before that. It seems that they got to know each other through co-starring in a TV program, and later Shizuka approached him by drawing pictures and giving them to him, and they became close. Rumors of their romance were reported in a women&#8217;s magazine about a month ago, and Shizuka&#8217;s office had denied all rumors, but this time the rumors were proven to be true.</p>
<p> The two were spotted here and there in Los Angeles.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Their &quot;cohabitation&quot; was witnessed in many places in L.A."></div>
<p><span class="strongInContent">I saw them shopping in mid-January at Yaohan (a Japanese supermarket) in downtown. They were buying all kinds of teacups, hashis, pots and pans. They also had a cart full of vegetables and meat.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> They were walking together near the Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. They were holding hands and looked like they were getting along well.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> When a staff member visited him at his L.A. home, he said he was surprised when Shizuka suddenly came out of the doorway. It was like she was in charge of the house.</span></p>
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<p> YOSHIKI&#8217;s house was located on a corner of Hollywood Hill overlooking the city of Los Angeles. The two must have been warming up their love like a gorgeous scene from a Hollywood movie in this white-walled house with a swimming pool in the courtyard.</p>
<p> YOSHIKI, who was caught driving under the influence of alcohol, was released on $500 bail after undergoing a blood alcohol content test at the West Hollywood police station. According to his lawyer in Los Angeles, he was suspended for six months.</p>
<p> This magazine witnessed YOSHIKI taking the course and contacted his personal office to ask about his feelings, but the response was, &#8220;No comment at all.</p>
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<p> Since their relationship was exposed, the two have been proudly living together in Los Angeles since then. The relationship was going well, and it was reported that YOSHIKI gave Shizuka a ring on her birthday on April 14. In response to the breakup rumors, Shizuka herself sent an unusual comment to various companies by fax in her own handwriting, saying, &#8220;There are many rumors going around, but we are still in a relationship as before.</p>
<p> However, in December 1995, this magazine scooped the existence of YOSHIKI&#8217;s &#8220;new Canadian girlfriend,&#8221; and Shizuka admitted the breakup, saying, &#8220;I haven&#8217;t seen her anymore.</p>
<p> Since then, there have been no reports of any interaction between the two. However, in January 2011, YOSHIKI told &#8220;Shukan Bunshun&#8221;, &#8220;I don&#8217;t talk with Shizuka all the time. I talk to Shizuka every now and then.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" YOSHIKI &amp; Shizuka&#39;s L.A. Cohabitation Life"></div>
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<figure id="attachment_370495" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-370495" style="width: 2949px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e619e700"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/04/2c43ad86362d8584ea661175c6b603ed.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-370495" class="wp-caption-text">YOSHIKI spent 11 months of the year in Los Angeles in 1993 (April 15, 1994).</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_370496" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-370496" style="width: 3092px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0a593eee"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/04/83409f140d329ba4f16c4259482fd581.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-370496" class="wp-caption-text"> YOSHIKI is tapped on the shoulder by an instructor (left) and encouraged after taking a class at a traffic school (April 15, 1994).</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_370497" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-370497" style="width: 1192px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="3df92ca8"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/04/6591c93b76b23ceeddeda5348bf32dac.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-370497" class="wp-caption-text"> Intersection where YOSHIKI was caught red-handed (April 15, &#8217;94 issue)</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_370498" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-370498" style="width: 1540px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="9b8fa511"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/04/a57aa46ef8763addc7035b52d90a4012.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-370498" class="wp-caption-text"> A Japanese restaurant in Los Angeles where YOSHIKI, Shizuka, and others enjoyed a private party (April 15, 1994).</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_370499" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-370499" style="width: 1518px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="428e09f8"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/04/b2068ae00ee1e539c583d9d8ec476cec.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-370499" class="wp-caption-text"> YOSHIKI&#8217;s residence in the Hollywood Hills (April 15, 1994)</figcaption></figure>
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 Shoichiro Tsuboi (1st photo), Hiroshi Ito

 In this issue of Playback, we look back at what we reported 10, 20, and 30 years ago. In this issue, we introduce YOSHIKI's arrest and his "L.A. cohabitation" with Shizuka Kudo, which was revealed at the same time in the April 15, 1994 issue.

Playback ’94] YOSHIKI’s “Shocking DUI Arrest” Reveals His “L.A. Cohabitation” with Shizuka Kudo

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