'Beethoven of Japan' says he can hear again

Let's drop the "Beethoven of Japan" thing - it suggests this criminal has some talent. He's hardly to be compared with Beethoven. Beethoven didn't lie about his loss of hearing to the point of hiring someone else to compose music and then passing it off as his own.

I can just imagine this guys saying, "It's a miracle!"

So, he lied about two things.

Let's drop the "Beethoven of Japan" thing - it suggests this criminal has some talent. He's hardly to be compared with Beethoven. Beethoven didn't lie about his loss of hearing to the point of hiring someone else to compose music and then passing it off as his own

Maria -- spot on.

His hearing ability was obviously mislabelled

What a moron and a scam artist, the government needs to sue him and he should pay back all money received.

If nothing more, this guy must at least be a pretty good actor, if for the last several years he was able to fake being deaf and nobody noticed that he could hear.

And I am actually blind and cannot see what I am typing. I have a ghost writer do it for me

You can't really put the blame on this guy alone. His mother said that everytime she saw him on tv making some wild claims, she thought "mata uso itte iru no, mou yamenasai". But she didn't raise any alarm bells. His wife must also have known something wasn't kosher, unless he managed to fool her as well with his non existing hearing problems and piano skills. And of course the ghost writer, who was in on this scam go on for 18 years and for some reason finally spilled the beans.

What?huh?Say again? Lol fake musician.

Hallelujah!! It's a miracle!! He said the truth and all merciful Lord has returned his hearing!!

The ghostwriter may not have received his fair share of the proceeds, but he was fully complicit and should be indicted for abetting fraud.

Either way he is still a manipulative liar.

What a scumbag. Yeah, I'm sure his hearing 'miraculously' came back all of a sudden after Niigaki said the guy could hear all along. What kind of hearing disability suddenly disappears over time? Anyone who buys this guy's excuses is a sucker. I hope he gets sued from every direction, and he sure as hell better apologize to the deaf community, and Beethoven for that matter.

IT'S A MIRACLE!! LMAO! :)

no musical talent at all, but he's got dat mad business skill. he should teach at keio or something.

It's a miracle.

it indicates how willing the masses here are to accept what they are told without question

So when you learn that someone is deaf, the first thing you do is doubt them?

CGB Spender

First of all he's not a criminal because he lied or used a ghost composer. Show me the law the prohibits this! People here are quick wanting to lynch the suspect!

he is a physical disability certificate/card holder, meaning he gets all sorts of benefits including tax reduction, reduction of medical fee, free public transportation, no NHK fee, etc. If he kept his disability card even though he can hear, then this is a crime.

also, many people bought his CD because of his "story", many people were inspired by the fact (which we now know it was a lie) he couldn't hear but could still write beautiful music.. this is a fraud.

Guys.. he's deaf.. TONE DEAF... hehehehe I don't know this guy nor even hear his "compositions" but if I knew of someone who played a disability card to get rich and famous and not even with his own talent I would be feel cheated. Maybe the people believed he was deaf because if someone played one of his scores badly in front of him, he wouldn't notice it was wrong (due to not being his compositions and not having "musical ear", or "tone deaf")

I agree with some of the posters above, Drop the Beethoven of Japan thing, it is an offense to classical music... (and I just watched Nodame Cantabile drama these days, so I'm pretty sensitive about this topic)

Last time I checked, hearing problems don't disappear for 18 years and then miraculously restore later on. This man needs to just admit that he is a fraud and step out of the spotlight. His excuse sounds like something that a child would make up. Does he really expect people to buy this? Unfortunately I feel that a lot of people will. Even submitting himself for testing doesn't mean anything. Most hearing tests require you to notify the tester if you hear a sound at a certain pitch. He can easily claim that he hears nothing. What they need to do is sneak up behind him with an air horn and let it out at full blast to see if he flinches.

Hahaha! Conbinibento you stole my post!

Praise the Lord! Miracles do happen! Seriously - the scary thing is some of his fanbase, the over 80s blue-rinse set, will probably lap this story up.

I agree with the posters above. This nickname of "Beethoven of Japan" should be immediately dropped.

Beethoven was deaf, but a magnificent composer.

This crook isn't deaf, and isn't any kind of a composer. He can't even play the piano.

He's just a crook. I'm glad he got found out.

I can hear, I can’t hear. I can hear, I can’t hear - make up your mind.

Please no more miracle references....

If limbo dancing were an Olympic sport, this lowlife would be a gold medal winner. Now he has admitted to fraud on both a professional and health-related level, I assume he won't be attending the Para-Olympics in Sochi.

I wonder what the next revelation will be? Will he admit to the JFK assassination (despite the chronological inconsistencies)? Moreover, what are the legal implications of him being "able to hear"? Was he sponging off the state with a disabled benefits card? Perhaps his next DVD will be "Live in Concert from Chufu Prison"? Sort of like "Aloha from Hawaii" without the musical talent.

This guy conducted a huge fraud just like the "ore ore!" scam artists but he won't see the inside of any jail cell. He may not be deaf, he's definitely not stupid and he's laughing all the way to the bank.

I wouldn't call him a liar but I disbelieve him.

An admission to miraculously regaining his hearing sidesteps the whole ghost writer thing. More, not so clever tricks to deceive. Hearing loss doesn't normally reverse. Plus, even if it did, he still played everyone. . .

When does he comment on the fact that he didn't write anything and paid the music professor to write "his" music?

Pixilated: "If nothing more, this guy must at least be a pretty good actor, if for the last several years he was able to fake being deaf and nobody noticed that he could hear."

Not really. If anything it indicates how willing the masses here are to accept what they are told without question.

This guy should have played it better. A visit to a faith healer, the laying of hands (with some of his music playing in the background), a little quiver and the shout, "It's a miracle, I can hear!"

I'm thinking on starting a Ponzi Scheme.... and I know just the guy to run it.

This guy might be trying to lie his way into a cushy TEPCO job. I hear they're always headhunting for good liars in TEPCO's PR and management departments!

On a different note, Japan needs to learn to stop comparing their "geniuses" to some supposed Western equivalent. To say this scam artist could even begin to approach Beethoven's creativity, output, range of ability, originality or sheer musical genius is insulting not only to Beethoven but indeed, to the whole storied tradition of Western classical music.

The same goes for the rest of them: "Japan's (Disney/Beatles/Henry Ford/Dostoyevsky/you name the Westerner trailblazer they're trying to belittle now by equating to a second-rate Japanese 'talent "): when you get right down to comparing the originators to the Taro-come-lately impersonators, usually the Japanese "genius" falls far short of even mimicking the original well enough to warrant such a lopsided comparison!~

Someone ought to commission him to write a new score for the TEPCO boogie-woogie sidestep. He'd be perfect. His selective deafness would be such an asset.

"This guy should have played it better. A visit to a faith healer, the laying of hands (with some of his music playing in the background), a little quiver and the shout, "It's a miracle, I can hear!"

Yep, that's the only way to get out of it. He should say he was deaf but then went to a power spot in Hiroshima and could hear again, but didn't tell anyone because he was afraid they wouldn't believe him.

I think people are giving him too much credit for acting. When I meet people in wheelchairs I don't automatically wonder if they are faking it, neither do I assume blind people can really see either.

If i did that, what would happen? Next I'd have to start thinking the foreigners doing weddings here aren't real, the onsen water is from the normal tap, Tepco was lying about the radiation level, and I'd be questioning the waiter about food in hotels!

You can't go around being suspicious of everyone.....

So when you learn that someone is deaf, the first thing you do is doubt them?

Nah the first thing you do is sneak up on them and scream RHAAAAAA! and see if they flinch.

kickboard: "So when you learn that someone is deaf, the first thing you do is doubt them?"

Nope. But if someone claims to be a musical genius but is never seen writing or playing a single note in 18 years I would certainly doubt his abilities. And 18 years of feigning deafness? There must be some people who were skeptical if they didn't buy into his 'story'. Not sure how anyone can defend the guy, but that is also another thing that's common here when scandals are revealed involving celebrities.

CGB Spender: "On the other hand, if he regains hearing again he might be able to make up for it again by composing on his own."

Problem is it's been said he cannot even write a single note.

Surprise!

Next time he will tell, he suddenly unable to read and write music so he hire the guy who penning his music.

He should be put in the jail for deceiving music lovers.

The next time some when some musical prodigy makes a deaf claim, someone please drop a glass behind him to check and see if he turns his head.

He can hear can he? Good I hope he hears a symphony of raspberries wherever he appears

Eiji TakanoFEB. 13, 2014 - 01:13PM JST So when you learn that someone is deaf, the first thing you do is doubt them? no, lol, but you can eventually figure out that he might be a fake.

I know, right? It's easy so tell someone's disability based on personal perception (deafdar?), right? It's the same as figuring out how a person role plays as another country's national (for example). Easy to tell the lie, right?

http://limpingchicken.com/2013/11/11/deafdar/

I can just imagine this guys saying, "It's a miracle!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-isGzfYUZ4

So............ the newt got better?

It's a miracle! Ala be praised! - He should be facing fraud and deception charges, but then again, this is Japan and that's the way it's done right from the very top of the political tree down to the local bicycle repair man. Japanese business ethics 101!

A lie to cover a lie. Simple test for hearing. Have him sit next to a .50 cal and blast off about 50 rounds and ask him if he can hear. Dumb turd. No respect for people like this when there are people with real disabilities.

Good grief. What a choad.

Good point, it probably is against the law to fake a disability.

This dude is hilarious. One look at him and you know he is a fake. The wonkey-eyed real composer on the other hand, he looks like a musical genious.

There's actually even more to this story .. For those of u who don't know he's apparently been picking up welfare for his disability for about 20 years to the tune of atleast ¥1,000,000 per year ..In japan there are 5 classes of disability in order to receive welfare.. He is class 2 one of coarse being the highest.. His own mom even basically called him a liar.. It's also come to light that he took acting classes in his school days via an x- classmate .. This man is sick and a complete fraud.. I hope but am not holding my breath that he goes to jail for a very long time however this being Japan I doubt it..

Sorry but this dude was no Beethoven , never was! And never will be! Just a liar!!! For $hame!!!

So when you learn that someone is deaf, the first thing you do is doubt them?

no, lol, but you can eventually figure out that he might be a fake.

Hearing or deaf, his tales of being a composer are the main scam. And once a liar... No need to go check every details of that fake character.

The real Beethoven was so talented he could 'hear' it all in his head. This guy is a joke and this should be posted in 'Crime' not 'National'. His music is modern classical and truly forgettable, whoever wrote it.

First of all he's not a criminal because he lied or used a ghost composer. Show me the law the prohibits this! People here are quick wanting to lynch the suspect!

On the other hand, if he regains hearing again he might be able to make up for it again by composing on his own.