Japan's film industry rocked by sexual assault allegations against prominent director

Mar 26, 2022 | News On Japan

Mar 26, 2022 (hollywoodreporter.com) - The Japanese entertainment industry may finally be having its #MeToo moment as a director and actor face sexual assault allegations from seven actresses, including claims they worked together in targeting young women.

The film Honeymoon (Mitsugetsu) had been due to hit screens today. But the sight of the director Hideo Sakaki, 51, promoting a film that deals with sexual abuse was apparently too much to take for women in the industry who allege they have been coerced into sex by him.

Four women came forward and spoke of their ordeals to Shukan Bunshun, a weekly magazine known for breaking a steady stream of celebrity and political stories. The magazine ran an article March 9 detailing the allegations dating back as far as 2011, and the release of Honeymoon was put on hold.

The women have yet to be named and it is unclear whether any legal action will be taken. Sakaki admitted to having sex with three of the women, claiming it was consensual, and denied having any kind of relationship with the fourth.

Since then, three more have made similar allegations against actor Houka Kinoshita, 58, a close friend of Sakaki’s who has appeared in seven of his films and acted with him in others. Some of the women allege the two collaborated in sexual coercion, introducing young women looking for a break in the industry to each other. Some said they were abused by both of the men.

One of the women says Kinoshita assaulted her at an acting workshop and then forced her into sex afterward. ...continue reading

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