“I tend to joke that ‘welcome back’ sounds like ‘buy cocaine,’ but people think I don’t reflect on it.”
Arrested for drugs 5 times. Masashi Tashiro (66) has finished his third prison sentence in his life. In July 2020, he completed the sentence of 2 years and 6 months in prison (with six months of it suspended for 2 years with probation), and on October 27, he was released from Fukushima Prison. It’s only been a week since I left Saba. This magazine interviewed Tashiro, who remains a “mushoboke”.
“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I heard Fukushima Prison was easy, but I was punished five times.”
[Erthygl gysylltiedig: ASKA a dorrodd y rheolau “Ni chyfaddefodd Mashashi Tashiro”]
“Mercy” laughs weakly, but her appearance is good.
“Before I was detained, I was sick with diabetes and I was so sick that I died. But in prison, I ate plain food and did muscle training during my exercise time, so I became quite healthy
It is said that he was bullied a lot by the prison guards while he was in prison.
“During prison work to make a doll, I used a toothpick because it was suitable for detailed work, and a prison guard found out, ‘What is this?’ I was shouted at and punished. A young prison officer even teased me, saying, “Aren’t you ashamed to be told this much by someone younger than you?”Since my face is known, other prisoners fight with me . I’m also a bad person, so I would say, “I’ll do it any time.” (laughs) The punishment cell was hard.
During the trial, there was sad news that his benefactor Ken Shimura had died.
“It was painful. I made a comment from the hospital where I was in hospital, saying, ‘I wish I had died instead.’ I was the one who made the rosary.” When I asked Mr Shimura which rosary would be better for him “status and health” or “women and pleasure”, he chose the latter without hesitation (laughs) Hopefully the you choose the first… I want to go to Higashimurayama to visit his grave as soon as possible. “
Previously, in an interview with this magazine before he was detained, Tashiro said he wanted to paint Buddhist paintings while in prison. It didn’t work either.
“In prison, grades are determined by whether you are outstanding or not. I couldn’t…”
It is said that the first thing he ate after being released from prison was tofu.
“It often appears in Korean movies, but people eat tofu horns as a lucky charm over there. They make their black self white like tofu. I wanted to try this, so I asked my wife to prepare it for me and eat it right in front of the prison after I was released. I’m sick of it.”
In fact, Tashiro has kept the existence of his “current wife” a secret until now. He divorced his ex-wife, who had a son and a daughter, while in prison in 2005, when he was serving his first sentence.
“I went on the family register with my current wife in 2011 just before I was detained in Fuchu Prison. He is the only one who understands me so much even if I look for him. This time, because of the corona disaster, I went out of my way to visit him in the snow, but he was turned away, and I also had a miserable experience. My son understands many things, but my relationship with my daughter is difficult.
With the help of his wife, he will continue his fight against drugs.
“The probation officer also said to me, ‘Your wife is the supervisor.’ By working together, there will be no opportunities to come across drugs.
In the future, he plans to give lectures and post on YouTube while attending DARC, a facility that supports drug addiction recovery.
“Isn’t there anyone who can convey the fear of drugs like me?” I want to send some money to my daughter or son. However, if you try to return to the spectacular world of entertainment, dealers will always come to you. Therefore, it is possible to work alone and afraid of drugs. I want to do activities that convey this, but in actually, my dream is to sing next to Masayuki Suzuki…
I’ve been communicating with him a lot before, and I said, ‘It’s hard to regain everyone’s trust. But I believe you’ll regain my trust, and I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.” We’ve been friends since high school. I think we should move on little by little .”
It is only the 7th day of the battle of “the man who never learns”.
(FLASH weekly edition November 22, 2022)
