Japanese Actor Kento Nagayama Found Guilty of Cannabis Possession

Jiji Press

16:56 JST, September 2, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Tokyo District Court sentenced actor Kento Nagayama to six months in prison, suspended for three years, for illegal cannabis possession on Friday.

Nagayama, 34, “started using cannabis at the age of 18 or 19 and continued using it although he had an opportunity to stop the use after being warned by people around him,” Presiding Judge Makoto Terao said. “He should be strongly blamed for making decisions to commit the crime.”

But the judge also noted that he deserved a suspended sentence because he was trying to cut contacts with people involved in cannabis and rehabilitate himself.

Nagayama stood in front of the witness stand and stared at the judge explaining reasons for his decision.

After handing down the ruling, Terao told the popular actor that “there are people who support you and are waiting for your return” and that “I hope you will not betray their expectations, breaking your relationship with cannabis and getting back on your feet.”

According to the ruling, Nagayama was in possession of about 1.694 grams of dried cannabis at his condominium in Tokyo’s Meguro Ward on June 15, in violation of the Cannabis Control Law.