Japanese Pop Star Cleared of Indecency

A Japanese pop star was released today after being held overnight for allegedly being naked and drunk in a Tokyo park, according to an Associated Press report.

Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, a Japanese superstar from the group SMAP, was arrested Thursday after neighbors complained to police that there was a drunk man disrupting the peace in a park in an upscale Tokyo neighborhood.

Dozens of Japanese paparazzi congregated around the Harajuku police station where Kusanagi was held and questioned by police. His apartment was searched, but he was not charged with anything and a silver van carried him quickly away from the police station, its curtains tightly closed.

Public broadcaster NHK said prosecutors decided to release Kusanagi because there is no concern that he would flee or destroy evidence. The arrest has been the top news item in Japan, with major TV networks covering it nonstop.