 This article is about an actor in Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan.
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Asao Kobayashi (小林 朝夫 Kobayashi Asao) is a former Japanese actor and convicted sex offender who played Asao Hyou (VulPanther) in Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan.
On December 28, 1982, less than a year after Sun Vulcan ended, Kobayashi's co-star Shin Kishida (Daizaburou Arashiyama) died of esophageal cancer, aged 43. Asao Kobayashi was so overcome by the shock of Kishida’s sudden death that he took a hiatus from acting and left show business permanently a few years later.
Criminal Records[]
In June of 2013, Kobayashi was arrested for soliciting a high school girl from Aomori Prefecture and sexually assaulting her in an apartment on April 22th from 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM, afterwards, she reported the incident to the authorities.
Not too long afterward, it was revealed Kobayashi had apparently taken photos of the assault incident, constituting production of child pornography and the crime of pedophilia, causing him to be re-arrested. Toei had not been promoting Sun Vulcan as much at the time, and fans have speculated that Kobayashi's criminal actions have been a reason as to why.[1] [2]