The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2025–2026
A home search that ended in no charges still cost Yonekura Ryoko her ad campaigns
Narcotics search of actress Yonekura Ryoko's home paused Rakuten Mobile work and emptied Kose Cosmeport's site of her photos — she was never charged.
Kose Cosmeport · Rakuten Mobile · Yonekura Ryoko · 2026-01-30
What happened
Yonekura Ryoko was one of Japan's most bankable actresses — the star of the Doctor-X series, an independent since 2020, and a long-running face for advertisers. She had appeared in Rakuten Mobile commercials since July 2020, a five-year relationship she called a meaningful job, and was the campaign model for Kose Cosmeport.
In late August 2025, narcotics investigators from the health ministry's Kanto-Shinetsu bureau searched her home. Weekly Bunshun reported the search in October. The reaction came before any charge: she withdrew from three event appearances — Barney's New York Ginza, Jaguar Land Rover Japan, and the Clarino beauty awards — and in October her agency asked Rakuten Mobile to hold off on the advertising work 'for the time being', according to an advertising agency source.
On December 26, 2025, Yonekura confirmed the search in a statement on her official site, saying she had cooperated fully. In early January 2026, Kose Cosmeport deleted every photo of her from its website and its YouTube videos became unviewable; the company said the contract had simply expired at the end of 2025. On January 30, 2026, Tokyo prosecutors declined to indict her. No charge was ever filed — the campaigns were gone anyway.
Why it happened
- Rakuten Mobile paused Yonekura's advertising work on her own agency's request — the brand accepted the pause rather than fight a reputational question.
- Kose Cosmeport purged her photos and videos from its official channels in the weeks after her statement, whatever the stated reason for the timing.
- The withdrawals from three brand events in September–October preceded any charge — suspicion alone was enough to empty her event calendar.
- Tokyo prosecutors declined to indict her in January 2026, yet no brand returned: the loss was paid by a person who was never charged.
The lesson
Advertisers act on the report of an investigation, not its outcome. Yonekura was never charged, yet her campaigns were paused and purged — the verdict, when it came, was irrelevant to the damage.
Aftermath
Tokyo prosecutors declined to indict Yonekura Ryoko on January 30, 2026 — the drug investigation closed without a charge. The damage was already done: her agency asked Rakuten Mobile to pause advertising work in October 2025, three brand events were cancelled or missed in September–October, and Kose Cosmeport removed all her photos and videos from its official channels in early January 2026, saying the contract had simply run its course at the end of 2025. The case became Japan's clearest recent example of a celebrity losing ad work over an investigation that ended in no charge.
Sources
- Smart FLASH — Kose Cosmeport deletes all Yonekura Ryoko photos from official site after home-search reports
- Josei Jishin — Yonekura Ryoko's agency asks Rakuten Mobile to hold off on advertising work for now
- Nikkan Sports — Yonekura Ryoko confirms in statement that investigators searched her home
- Sports Hochi — Yonekura Ryoko not indicted; prosecutors decline drug-related case
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