Fukuda Eimi is undoubtedly one of the most popular and influential talents in Japan today. Originally an idol of an unknown group, she later debuted first as a gravure talent and then as a Japanese adult actress, where she found massive success. On Twitter she has over 3.1 million followers, and on YouTube she has 1.2 million subscribers. Using this massive popular fanbase as her starting point, she has branched out into creating her own branded products such as a protein product and various other merchandise, including one perfume line that is the subject of Shukan Bunshun‘s investigation.
What was originally supposed to be a straightforward collaboration ended up costing the company producing the product over one million yen as Fukuda ended up suddenly cancelling scheduled photoshoots last second, first for a hospitalization due to an allergic reaction to some cosmetics she had received from a friend, and the second for another friend’s wedding.
Despite Forty Four Management, Fukuda‘s agency, explicitly saying they would cover the costs of the sudden cancellations, they were nowhere to be found when the bill was supposed to be paid. After several months of no response the perfume company had no other choice but to turn to the courts for a legal remedy to the case, but even that faced unexpected hurdles: first, the papers could not be served due to an address issue, and when the papers were finally served, there was but a meager six thousand yen in the bank account that was seized.
What was surprising was that the victim was suddenly asked by Japanese tax officials to collaborate with them on a case that could not be disclosed by the government. When pressed, all tax officials could state was that they were investigating the flow of money between Fukuda and her agency.
Source: Bunshun
