Actor Ennosuke Ichikawa, who survived a triple suicide pact in Japan that killed his parents, has been released from prison.
Ichikawa was arrested in June for assisting his parents’ suicide and his sentence was suspended for five years.
According to Japanese media reports, Ichikawa told his family he would commit suicide in May after learning that a weekly magazine would publish a story accusing him of sexual harassment.
Ichikawa, 47, a well-known actor in the traditional Japanese theater Kabuki, said he feared that if the allegations were published, it would bring shame to the family.
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In response, Ichikawa’s 75-year-old mother Nobuko Kinoshi and 76-year-old father Hiroyuki Kinoshi, both actors themselves, decided to commit suicide with their son.
Deciding to commit suicide, the family swallowed a large number of pills on May 17. While the mother and father died, Ichikawa was found unconscious at home and was treated.
“I am in indescribable pain”
Ichikawa, who was arrested on charges of assisting in the deaths of his parents, said he was in indescribable pain during a hearing at the Tokyo District Court on November 17.
Expressing that he felt as if he had been given a chance to live, Ichikawa said, “I thought I would leave deep wounds in Kabuki tradition and culture.”
The actor, who was released on bail, was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for five years, the court said in a statement.
Ichikawa made his Kabuki debut in 1980 and over the years became one of the country’s most famous artists.
In addition to his performances in traditional theater, Ichikawa has also appeared in television and film projects.
