Ai Iijima's last days shrouded in mystery

no coroners report? wft?!? ai-chan was a nice girl. sad no one cared. don't they have coroners in japan?

However, an autopsy revealed that she had probably been dead for one week before her body was found, but could not pin down the cause of her death.

I smell something fishy here...someone paying the cops to cover up some unwanted press? How can you NOT pin down the cause of the death? Isn't that what they are trained to do? PR people for Ai san doing their job I guess.

JRock makes a good point - how someone views women almost always says more about the person than anything else.

In my humble and uninformed opinion, she died of AIDS. She quit the "geinokai" to protect her privacy. Why else would she had quit at the height of her popularity? Her health was failing, hair and teeth were falling out, and she wasn't able to go out and talk to or meet people like a normal person. Overall, a remarkable life! She was refreshing and absolutely beautiful, especially when she was young before she had her operations.

The woman was the true icon/epitome of modern Japanese womanhood. Empty, shallow, devoid of the desire for personnal empowerment, materialistically obsessed and immoral.

What a load of bitter, misogynistic garbage. It does a great disservice to millions of women, and doesn't reflect all that well on yourself either.

The woman was the true icon/epitome of modern Japanese womanhood. Empty, shallow, devoid of the desire for personnal empowerment, materialistically obsessed and immoral.

I think you hang out with the wrong women.

"We found several tobacco packages of different brands" - Should be 'packs of cigarettes of different brands'. Your friendly translation police division.

dogdog- harsh but fair

Sad Life when you think about it. Think about it.

WilliB: Because it reads like gossip and not a serious article when it should be.

mr x-o taro

"It seems that she was with somebody until the last minute of her death.”

????

Why all this hatred among so many JT commentators? I am no fan of her, but among all the vacuous clowns on TV here, she was not the worst, to the contrary.

Anything else is just idle speculation.

The woman was the true icon/epitome of modern Japanese womanhood. Empty, shallow, devoid of the desire for personnal empowerment, materialistically obsessed and immoral.

I offer my condolences to her family. Anything else is just idle speculation.

Never seen her "act", but she doesn't look all that. Mr X? Certainly an original alias....... Plus she stole my idea on making original and fun sex toys.

bamboohat - how very true. I think JT keeps mentioning her as "porn star" so that the story will come up in more searches that people may make. So if people search for "porn star Japan" then this story will be in the results.

Although should be said this particular article is from Shukan Post, but I know exactly what you're getting at.

Why do so many JT readers figure Yakuza conspiracies into everything? Is there a particular reason that the simplest explanation isn't the best one?

Because the Yak's control the porn, human trafficking and drug markets in Japan.

The only thing shrouded in mystery is the competency of the J-authorities.

“Her room was messy with books, clothes and bottles strewn about when she was found,” says a police investigator.

Ouch!Sounds like mine. Is that like a bad thing?

Why do so many JT readers figure Yakuza conspiracies into everything? Is there a particular reason that the simplest explanation isn't the best one?

Mr. X couldn't be Hide Matsumoto

who is mr.x?

Deep Throat.

I noticed JT always calls her an ex PORN star, while the REAL print media call her simply a TV personality, knowing full well people knew who she was without needing to write PORN STAR all over the headlines.

welcome to the world of media. John Lennon could have worked with disabled kids and John Hinckley could have written a best seller, people are often famous/notorious for the wrong reasons.

Are we expecting a toxicology report? If so (and I would hope it's part of any investigation) the toxicology report should close the case. I would guess an accidental overdose of sleeping pills.

why aren't people saying accidental overdose? That would explain a lot, all the different prescription drugs. Oh, wait then they couldn't conveniently blame the dead person. J-cops, alwasy thinking.

and I noticed JT always calls her an ex PORN star, while the REAL print media call her simply a TV personality, knowing full well people knew who she was without needing to write PORN STAR all over the headlines.

who is mr.x?

"Iijima had no obvious injuries, police said, adding they believe she either died of an illness or committed suicide. However, an autopsy revealed that she had probably been dead for one week before her body was found, but could not pin down the cause of her death. Several types of pharmaceutical products such as the sleeping pill Halcion and cold medicines—all prescribed by doctors—were found in the condominium but no suicide note was found, police said."

Simply waiting for the toxicology report would be helpful, but then such a common sense approach wouldn't sell in the weekly magazine business.

I'm just sorry that she died so young.

Iijima had no obvious injuries, police said, adding they believe she either died of an illness or committed suicide. However, an autopsy revealed that she had probably been dead for one week before her body was found, but could not pin down the cause of her death.

This article, and the police quote, are both jumping the gun here. According to Iijima's father the results of the autopsy could take a few weeks to determine exactly what may have happened. Why is that not mentioned in this article ?

Real world forensic pathologists can detect traces of drugs in foreign sumo wrestlers when they choose to, so they should have no problems detecting well-known drugs such as those found in her apartment - the analysis is quite straight forward. If they have trouble, or if they do not possess standard forensic textbooks like Clarke’s Analysis of Drugs and Poisons in their laboratories, the drug companies who make them can easily supply details of the analytical technique.

Because this is the real world and not CSI.

Rubbish. If you die of an illness it shows up on any half-decent post-mortem. If you commit suicide that will also come up. This is the year 2008 where we transplant human faces, clone animals and conduct keyhole heart surgery. They cannot pin down the cause of death ? And I don't watch CSI.

This article completely misses it's chance here. Instead of pointing the finger at the police investigation (or rather, lack of it) and the autopsy, it goes off on a tangent about cigarette packets and friends called Mr X. This is probably why this country ends up with so many missed chances like the killers of Lucie Blackman and Lindsay Hawker. There are no decent investigative journalists pushing the cops to do their job properly.

Why is it that the autopsies here have such a problem determining the cause of death ?

Because this is the real world and not CSI.

Mr X? This all stinks of stupid gossip.... RIP Ai Iijima you're death wont be solved there is too much Yak money involved.

A friend of Mr X says, “He often calls himself ‘A 100 billion yen man.’

But we just call him Mr. Ponzi.

she either died of an illness or committed suicide

Don't we all?

(Okay, traffic accidents)

Why is it that the autopsies here have such a problem determining the cause of death ? They had the same problem with the poor young girl who was murdered in Chiba. Surely the autopsy is a key moment for the police to know how that person died ? You don't just die of nothing. It merely leads us to believe that something dirty has happened here and that the pathologist or the cops were paid off by someone with money and power to hush this up. The cops say that she either died of an illness or committed suicide but surely that would show up in the autopsy ? The pathologist could not pin down the cause of her death ? Come on.

I always thought she was a sweetheart. The world is a sadder place without her in it.

In her too-short life she brought more happiness and pleasure into the world than all the mouth-breathing puritanical hypocrites and posturing closeted perverts in the world.

Guys, at the end of the day, this is a sad case.

JapanHusker, what makes it so clear cut that she went from Porn to Prostitution? The only slippery slope in her life, was the movement from being abused as a teen to the porn industry.

She made a break from the porn industry and moved into primetime variety talkshows. Her life account Platonic Sex was a breakkthrough. Whether it convinced people to stay out of the business who knows, but she tried to breakaway from her past.

Whilst I was never a fan of hers, (prefered someother AV acresses to be honest), I do give her credit for trying to break the cycle.

meanmutha,

"Most of the 33000 suicides has something to do with money"...

Tell me in which country that isn't true. I agree with you she was likely a depressed and delusional case, but who wouldn't be if you been practically raped into the porn industry and made it your carear only to realize at somepoint that you can actually try to do something else, hoping to shake off your previously acquired image?

Classic living fast and wannabe-a-name case. She died alone or may have OD'd and the guy or girl split and kept hush. I have noticed in all these years money makes the Japanese different from other Japanese. Most of the 33000 suicides has something to do with money. As in any culture, being rich and popular are somes goals of success. I think this woman wanted the endless fame and the circle cut her off. To me, she was a depressed delusional head case. She should of just left Japan and said f*&^% it and led a humble life elsewhere. Most good women want a family and I read that 90% of men here will not marry a previous porn player.

Sounds like the J version of Marilyn Monroe.

Out of the porn industry and into hanging around rich men and shady investment deals. All for the money.

“We found several tobacco packages of different brands. It seems that she was with somebody until the last minute of her death.”

Seems she went from getting paid for sex on videos to doing it in private. "Prostitution", I believe it is called.

Regular "slippery slope" ain't it?

"Developing adult toys was one of her ideas which she wrote about on her blog. "

Oh, she will be missed...right.