He Was Expected to Challenge the First-Team Regulars–The Downfall of a Former Carp Player Once Touted as a Rising Star, Arrested on Suspicion of Fraud

Stealing a wallet from a man who was drunk and asleep

Just before 9 a.m. on September 8, a large, brown-haired man emerged from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Ikegami Police Station with a broad smile on his face, looking strangely happy. Was he perhaps reminiscing about the glamorous days when he was surrounded by cameras? Or could he not help but laugh at the irony of becoming a suspect in a fraud case?

By September 7, Ikegami Police Station had arrested former Hiroshima Toyo Carp player Daisuke Tada, 30, on suspicion of fraud for using a credit card registered in someone else’s name.

“At around 5 p.m. on June 13, Tada is suspected of using a credit card in the name of a man in his 20s to pay ¥3,500 for a private room at a video-viewing establishment in Sumida Ward, Tokyo.

The case came to light after a man in his 20s who had been drunk and asleep at a bus stop in front of JR Kinshicho Station contacted police, saying, ‘My wallet was gone while I was sleeping. I checked my credit card and found there was a transaction on it, so it seems someone used it.’ The man had been drinking since the evening of the 12th and reportedly realized that his wallet was missing in the early hours of the 13th after falling asleep on an outdoor bench.

A subsequent investigation of security camera footage led police to Tada, who was then arrested. During questioning, he reportedly said, ‘I took the wallet from the man while he was drunk and asleep. I did it because I was short of money.’ There are also records showing that the card was used to purchase food at a convenience store, and police are investigating whether that was related.” (National newspaper crime reporter)

Tada was selected by the Hiroshima Carp in the seventh round of the 2014 draft and remained with the team through 2017.

“Tada is from Tokushima Prefecture. At Naruto Uzushio High School, he attracted the attention of scouts as a large catcher, standing 189 cm tall and weighing 91 kg, with an exceptionally strong throwing arm—he recorded five assists in the final of the prefectural tournament in the spring of his third year. Hiroshima signed him for a signing bonus of ¥25 million and an annual salary of ¥4.5 million (both estimated). ‘There is something outstanding about his arm strength, power and physique. There is something about the way he carries himself that is beyond what you would expect from a high school student, and we hope he will become someone capable of challenging for a key role on the first team,’ said Yoshihisa Shiratake, then head of the scouting department.” (Sports newspaper reporter)

However, Tada never appeared in a single first-team game for Hiroshima and was released by the team in 2017. At the time, he told a sports newspaper:

“I still don’t feel like I’ve done everything I can. As long as I’m able to play, I want to keep playing.”

BreakingDown and the mysterious death notice

“He had been playing for an amateur club team since 2018, but retired in 2019. After that, he reportedly joined a softball team and performed well enough to compete in national tournaments, while also moving between positions as a player and coach for amateur club teams, as well as various rubber-ball baseball teams. During this period, he also moved from Hiroshima to Osaka, and revealed on social media that he had worked at a bar in Kitashinchi.”(Same source)

However, from around last year, signs of him drifting somewhat aimlessly began to emerge, including his audition for “BreakingDown.” What particularly shocked the public was the following death notice posted on his social media in July this year.

“I have been entrusted with his login information and am currently updating this account. Unfortunately, his liver cancer, which he had been suffering from for some time, recurred, and although he had been undergoing treatment since late May, he passed away on June 21.

He asked me to report this because he wanted me to tell everyone that he was sorry for causing trouble to so many people during his lifetime.” (Original text)

“Fans were shocked. There was no information whatsoever afterward, leaving his life or death unknown, but the news of his arrest has inadvertently confirmed that he is alive. There were also reports that he was fond of gambling and had accumulated debts, but we do not know whether those reports are true. Recently, he appears to have been living in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, and working in the construction industry, but it seems certain that he was short of money.” (Same source)

At the top of Tada’s social media account, which has 1,200 followers, was a post accompanied by the hashtag “#PleaseRT” that read:

“I would really appreciate the cooperation of Carp fans, and I hope somehow we can get the number of followers back up to what it was at the time.”

A screenshot of what appears to have been his account from his days with the Carp was attached. That account had 11,111 followers.

Perhaps somewhere in his mind, he was always dreaming of his glorious past. But with this incident, he has fallen to a place from which there is no turning back.

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