X Japan Bassist Taiji Sawada Dies at 45

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Jul 18, 2011

Taiji Sawada, the former bassist for Japanese heavy metal outfit X Japan, died yesterday (July 17) after complications arising from a suicide attempt. He was 45 years old.

The last week of the rocker's life is shrouded in mystery. As the Telegraph reports, Sawada was arrested on July 11 after allegedly assaulting a Delta Airlines employee during a flight from Saipan to Tokyo. After hearing a commotion on the plane, the attendant found Sawada struggling with another passenger and needed to be confronted by a number of staff.

After he was moved to another seat, he reportedly acted up again, violently punching windows and kicking seats, which led to him to being held in restraints until the plane had landed. He was taken to a detention centre in Saipan, but never gave a reason for his actions.

While at in custody, Sawada apparently attempted to kill himself on Thursday evening (July 14) by trying to hang himself with a bed sheet. He was rushed to hospital and put on life support in the intensive care unit, but the machine was shut off some time yesterday.

Sawada linked up with the long-running metal outfit in 1985 and played on their first three albums. After leaving the band in 1992, he played with a number of groups, including Loudness, D.T.R. and Cloud Nine. He joined his old X Japan bandmates for a couple of performances last August.

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