Japanese actor-director Sakaki Hideo arrested after sexual assault allegations

Japanese actor and film director was arrested on Tuesday after allegations of sexual assault were levelled against him.

As per a report in Variety, Japanese media, quoting police reports, confirmed that the arrest was related to an alleged incident in May 2016. Sakaki’s denied the charges, calling it “false accusations.”

The alleged assault occurred at Sakaki’s apartment, where he had invited a 20-year-old actor to give her acting advice. During that time, Sakaki allegedly asked the woman to take off her clothes and suggested that she should get used to nudity in her acting career.

The actor and her lawyer filed a formal complaint in 2023 after consultation with Tokyo police in September that year.

The alleged incident was first reported in the Shukan Bunshun weekly magazine in March 2022, which accused Sakaki of assaults against four women.

After the Shukan Bunshun report in 2022, Sakaki issued an apology, but denied parts of the article. He did admit to having sex with three of the women, labelling them as consensual. However, he denied any relation with the fourth woman.

Sakaki’s wife, music composer Sakaki Izumi, apologised for her husband’s actions and said that she is looking to end their marriage.

Sakaki’s career has been thriving ever since he directed a segment of the 2003 anthology “Director Infection.” His 2010 buddy comedy “Kidnap Rhapsody” claimed an audience award at the 2010 Udine Far East Film Festival, while his 2013 film “Disregarded People” made its competitive premiere at the 2013 Tokyo International Film Festival.

The release of his directorial film “Mitsugetsu” (aka “Honeymoon,” aka “Confession”) was canceled. So too was that of another picture, “Hazard Lamp.”

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