japanese actor takeshi kitano's car is attacked with a pickaxe by a man who was furious that the star wouldn't give him a start in showbiz
Tokyo police have arrested a man who allegedly attacked Takeshi Kitano's car with a pickax on Saturday after the Japanese entertainment icon ignored his request to help him break into showbusiness.
The 74-year-old director and actor, also known by his stage name Beat Takeshi, was in the car with his driver. Neither of them were injured.
Kitano was leaving the compound of the Tokyo Broadcasting System after his weekly live talk show Saturday night, the network and other Japanese media reported Sunday.
The suspect allegedly smashed Kitano's car several times with a pickax, demanding he get out of the car, TBS reported.
A security guard called police and the suspect was arrested at the scene, reports said.
Takeshi Kitano, 74, known by his stage name Beat Takeshi, was uninjured after a man allegedly attacked his car with a pickax on Saturday night as he was leaving the studio for his talk show
Kitano won the highest prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1997 for the crime drama Hana-bi
TBS said the suspect told police that he got angry after he was ignored in June when he kneeled down before Kitano's car seeking help to let him join the entertainment industry. Police are investigating the suspect's motives, reports said.
The suspect was also allegedly carrying a knife with a four-inch blade.
He is a man in his 40s from Chiba Prefecture, in the outskirts of Tokyo, according to Mainichi Shimbun, one of Japan's major newspapers.
Tokyo police on Monday refused to confirm the reports, though they did say that a suspect was arrested on suspicion of illegal possession of weapons.
He wrote, directed and starred in the 2003 film Zatiochi, a revival of a classic samurai series
The film won him the Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice International Film Festival
Kitano is also active as a comedian, actor and writer.
In 1997, he won the Golden Lion - the highest prize at the Venice International Film Festival - for writing, directing, editing and starring in the crime drama Hana-bi, in which he portrays a police detective who retired after a tragic botched arrest.
His other popular films including Zatoichi, Sonatine, and Outrage.