Japanese celebrity arrested over alleged Ecstacy use

TOKYO, Aug. 4 -- Manabu Oshino, a Japanese actor and the front man of band LIV, was arrested Monday under suspicion of using drugs after he was questioned in connection with the death of a woman in her 30s.

The woman was found dead in a house in Tokyo's up market Roppongi district on Sunday, and Oshio was being questioned over her death when he was tested for drugs. After testing positive forMDMA, also known as Ecstacy, Oshio admitted that he had taken a pill, but denied knowing that it was an illegal substance.

Police are now investigating the woman's death, which they are treating it as suspicious.

Oshino, 31, spent his childhood in the United States, and rose to fame in Japan and China in the late 1990s. Since then, he has starred in a number of dramas, as well as continuing to lead his band. He married actress Akiko Yada in 2006.

After his arrest Monday, Avex Entertainment Inc. canceled its contract with the star.