Japanese film director arrested over sexual assault allegations

The reason why so many sexual assault cases go unreported and why so many rape victims never get the justice they deserve is because society has made it damn hard for them come forward.

This is all true for normal cases, but I think its turbocharged with this one. In this case, and Weinstein, and Johnny Kitagawa, the accuser is up against an extremely powerful man. A gatekeeper. If you accuse this person, it's goodbye career. That's it, you'll never be the star you dreamed of, that you put all that effort into becoming. That's just for making an accusation, which probably won't get anywhere near bringing that person to justice. The most likely outcome is that an establishment figure will file your case in the round file and you will be blackballed. Success as an actress will mean staying quiet.

If I report that you robbed me 6 years ago, the cops would say too late and laugh me out of the station. 

Do you have any evidence of that ever actually happening?

owzerToday 08:19 pm JST

The police should definitely investigate and thoroughly analyze the evidence that has been provided.

Oh wait... there IS no evidence. wah-wah-waaaaah

Where does the article say there is no evidence?

If the article does not say that there is no evidence, then where did you get that information?

If you don't have that information, why are you making this contention?

finally richToday 06:40 pm JST

If someone punched me, stole from me, vandalized my car or worse, I'd go to the police the next day, or within the week/month if the trauma was too big to recover, regardless if I had any evidence or not.

Invalid comparison. A more valid question to you is this:

If someone raped you, would you go to the police the next day?

Would you have the mental strength to tell a room of male police officers exactly what happened to you, down to the last detail, as they asked invasive and embarrassing questions?

Would you manage to hold onto your sanity as they take you back to the scene of the crime and then photograph you in various positions with a life sized figure of a man to demonstrate exactly what the rapist did to you?

Would you then feel strong enough to go through a medical exam where you had to allow a stranger to look at your privates and photograph your injuries even as you are suffering from the images and flashbacks of your assault?

Would you be able to hold up with allowing the investigation to continue in spite of seeing your name plastered all over the internet, and read commentary about you calling you a liar, all sorts of other derogatory names, and saying you probably deserved to be raped because you were foolish enough to let it happen?

If you can say yes to all of this, and truly imagine what it is like to be raped, then congrats - you'd be one of the only 4% of people strong enough to do so. The rest of the men and women suffer in silence.

owzerToday 09:47 pm JST

I believe that the article does not say there is no evidence.

Correct. The article does not say "there is no evidence" or any other iteration of that phrase.

From the article. lol If there was evidence, they'd report on it. This is JapanToday, so they wouldn't leave out an important detail like that.

I'm confused. You just said, "*the article does not say there is no evidence". *Yet you say here "if there was ... they'd report" which is the opposite of your last statement. Which one of those statements are you backing?

As I pointed out, the lack of evidence presented here surely means there must not be any evidence. Quality reporting and all.

This is a short blurb in an online news site, not an in-depth report by an investigative journalist. To say that information is left out means this information does not exist is nonsensical. News agencies cannot print information from police records that they do not have access to.

The police do not make arrests without evidence. Clearly, there IS evidence. I am unsure why you are so insistent and refuse to acknowledge the obvious.

MocheakeToday 05:50 pm JST

Fellas, no matter what happened many years ago, any woman can wait as long as she wants to accuse you of whatever.

Hyperbole is not a valid form of argument.

By this story, it seems he's already guilty as they brought up other incidents and arrested the guy and only her recollection matters it seems.

Arrest is not an indication of guilt.

An accusation triggers an investigation. If the investigation does not bring up any evidence to support the accusation, the investigation is dropped. Therefore, for an arrest to be made, there must be evidence.

We suspect you of committing a crime 8 years ago, even though it took her 6 full years to report it and two more years for us to arrest you.

Women often don't report rape. The report rate, according to numerous journalistic sources, is cited at only 4% in Japan. Not reporting does not mean no crime was committed.

Have a witness every time you even get close to a woman. Soon men are going to start to use "Me too."

Once again, hyperbole is not a valid form of argument, and you have used hyperbole throughout this post. Do you even have a valid argument to make?

A percentage of guilty guys actually do admit they were wrong.

It says he's been arrested. The police here do not arrest lightly, and they only move when the feel sure there is enough evidence for a conviction.

Let's see what the guy says.

As soon as I read the headline, I thought "another scoop by Shukan Bunshun". Why are Japan and the Japanese police relying on them/other media to do their work? When are we going to see "police investigation leads to..."?

Its a serious allegation so it should be investigated thoroughly. With this claims that stretch back decades it seems like anything other than a comfession is unlikely to lead to a prosecution though.

I think the best advice for women and men is to avoid such private meetings and meet in public places or in offices with other persons present. Don’t expect and don’t offer special treatment for sex.

There should be a massive investigation into the criminality of the entertainment industrial and media. There also should be a whole month announced where any allegation can be reported where the accusers are protected by the law. The entertaining industrial is a cesspool of crimes and criminal networks. Media Mafia and Entertainment Cartels and their connection with Government has gone uncheck for decades.

Edit. when the = when they feel...

A thought.

This seems very similar to the Johnny's Junior case: young aspiring talent coming back years after to report sexual abuse by a powerful industry icon. The only differences is that it is the film industry instead of the music industry, and these are young women, not young men.

Interestingly, I did not see any of you guys here criticizing the young men, calling them liars, or calling it "A BS way to destroy people."

I wonder: if members of AKB48 came back in ten years to report sexual abuse by powerful members of the music industry, what sort of comments would you be making? More to the point: do reports of sexual abuse only become suspect if they are made by women?

owzer Today 09:25 am JST

This article is about someone making accusations of a crime 8 years after the fact, g.i.t.

This article is about a woman who is just now feeling she is able to bring accusations because the MeToo movement has create a more supportive environment for rape victims by bringing awareness to the issue.

You see it as a negative. Women who have experienced rape and sexual assault see it as a positive.

If you ask me, I would guess the defendant actually did it. The problem is we can't call a guilty verdict based on a gut feeling.

Only the court has the power to call a guilty verdict, and courts use evidence.

People use their experience, instincts, and evidence to form an opinion.

While we argue the general ethics of one person's word against another, it is worth revisiting the article and reading this section again. There were already multiple accusations against him.

Quote: Hideo Sakaki, 53, also a representative director at a talent agency, was arrested Tuesday for allegedly assaulting a woman in her 20s under the pretense of meeting to give her acting advice at a condominium in Tokyo's Minato Ward on the night of May 23, 2016, according to Tokyo police. Sakaki has denied the allegations, calling them "false accusations." The police believe Sakaki abused his position as a film director and are investigating several other complaints against him. Using the acting profession as a pretext, Sakaki allegedly told the woman that he wanted to check whether she had tattoos and asked her to take off her clothes, saying she may have to get used to nudity in her future acting career, the police said. The woman met Sakaki in the fall of 2015 at an actors' workshop. She consulted the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department through a lawyer in September 2022 and filed a complaint in June 2023.

Shukan Bunshun weekly magazine reported in March 2022 that Sakaki was suspected of coercing multiple actresses into performing sexual acts. The report led to the cancellation of the release of his film "Honeymoon," which deals with domestic sexual violence.

And let's not lose sight of what this article is about.

This article is about someone making accusations of a crime 8 years after the fact, g.i.t.

If you ask me, I would guess the defendant actually did it. The problem is we can't call a guilty verdict based on a gut feeling.

If I report that you robbed me 6 years ago

You keep bringing up theft when the topic is rape. Are you deliberately equating the two?

I doubt he is equating theft and rape, but merely pointing out that waiting a long time makes it difficult for people to believe you.

This article is about a woman who is just now feeling she is able to bring accusations because the MeToo movement has create a more supportive environment for rape victims by bringing awareness to the issue.

That certainly is possible. Is she a victim who now feels comfortable enough to come forward, or is she an opportunist? That's what it's about.

You see it as a negative. Women who have experienced rape and sexual assault see it as a positive.

The only negative thing I see here is a report of someone being accused, but without reporting any evidence to back up that claim.

Only the court has the power to call a guilty verdict, and courts use evidence.

People use their experience, instincts, and evidence to form an opinion.

My comment "we can't call a guilty verdict based on a gut feeling" is meant to say that 'we' = society, which includes the court.

And of course people use available information to form an opinion. I haven't been raped, so I'm going off what I know to form my own opinion. And that opinion is: The dude is probably guilty. But the accuser still needs to prove it.

girl_in_tokyoToday  07:03 am JST

No country is "safe" for women, not even Japan. There is no place where women don't have to be cautious, stay aware of their surroundings, give the name of the man they are meeting for a date to a trusted friend, or the myriad of other things women have to do to try and protect themselves. We do these things wherever we go.

Allowing ourselves to be lulled into a sense of complacency because "Japan is safe" would only open women up to danger. And then you guys would be saying, "Well, why did you go home with him/why did you walk alone at night/why did you go into that park at night..." and blame women for being lulled into a sense of complacency.

And let's not lose sight of what this article is about. This actress was sexually assaulted by a director - someone she worked with and saw as a mentor and as a safe person to be alone with. As this case demonstrates, most cases of sexual assault and rape are not perpetrated by strangers - the men are known to them. Yet much of the rhetoric around sexual assault blames women for not being aware of stranger danger.

What women need to worry about the most is not walking alone at night, but whether her boss decides to assault her or the guy she has been dating plans to rape her. This is not predictable or avoidable, and knoweldge of crime stats does not help women to avoid this.

Agree with you. I would add that women in Japan need to be especially aware of specific sexual crimes such as sexual assault (chikan) on public transport, sexual harassment from colleagues and bosses, upskirt and toilet photography, underwear stealing and stalking.

If someone punched me, stole from me, vandalized my car or worse, I'd go to the police the next day, or within the week/month if the trauma was too big to recover, regardless if I had any evidence or not.

The reason why so many sexual assault cases go unreported and why so many rape victims never get the justice they deserve is because society has made it damn hard for them come forward. There isn't a stigma that comes from being robbed, punched, or having your car vandalised or stolen but there is when it comes to sexual assault and rape. Women have been socially conditioned to feel ashamed and guilty for being sexually assaulted and thus are afraid to report it because aside from that, they also fear not having their case being believed, fear of being ostracised from their families and communities, fear of being mocked and ridiculed, and fear that even if they do speak up and report it, nothing will be done because this has and still does happen.

The victim-blaming culture, lack of trust in the authorities and the law has made it impossibly hard for victims of rape and sexual assault to get help and justice resulting in either the victims never reporting it or only managing to report it months or years later when they've come to terms with what happened and/or found the courage from another case that resulted in the perpetrator being successfully convicted. Society has failed women in so many ways and this is arguably one of its biggest, most glaring failures.

No country is "safe" for women, not even Japan. There is no place where women don't have to be cautious, stay aware of their surroundings, give the name of the man they are meeting for a date to a trusted friend, or the myriad of other things women have to do to try and protect themselves. We do these things wherever we go.

Allowing ourselves to be lulled into a sense of complacency because "Japan is safe" would only open women up to danger. And then you guys would be saying, "Well, why did you go home with him/why did you walk alone at night/why did you go into that park at night..." and blame women for being lulled into a sense of complacency.

And let's not lose sight of what this article is about. This actress was sexually assaulted by a director - someone she worked with and saw as a mentor and as a safe person to be alone with. As this case demonstrates, most cases of sexual assault and rape are not perpetrated by strangers - the men are known to them. Yet much of the rhetoric around sexual assault blames women for not being aware of stranger danger.

What women need to worry about the most is not walking alone at night, but whether her boss decides to assault her or the guy she has been dating plans to rape her. This is not predictable or avoidable, and knoweldge of crime stats does not help women to avoid this.

Perhaps the promises of a part in a movie fell through. His career is over.

RoyFeb. 21 07:07 pm JST

there were also some good points brought up here

> No there weren't. Statute of limitations aside, what difference does it make when a crime is reported

It makes a helluva lot of difference in collecting evidence, in photos taken at the scene, in everyone' s recollection, in finding potential witnesses, and on and on. You felt victimized but waited 6 years. What were you waiting for exactly?

> girl_in_tokyoFeb. 21  08:44 pm JST

finally richToday 06:40 pm JST

If someone punched me, stole from me, vandalized my car or worse, I'd go to the police the next day, or within the week/month if the trauma was too big to recover, regardless if I had any evidence or not.

Invalid comparison. A more valid question to you is this:

If someone raped you, would you go to the police the next day?

Would you have the mental strength to tell a room of male police officers exactly what happened to you, down to the last detail, as they asked invasive and embarrassing questions?

Would you manage to hold onto your sanity as they take you back to the scene of the crime and then photograph you in various positions with a life sized figure of a man to demonstrate exactly what the rapist did to you?

Would you then feel strong enough to go through a medical exam where you had to allow a stranger to look at your privates and photograph your injuries even as you are suffering from the images and flashbacks of your assault?

Would you be able to hold up with allowing the investigation to continue in spite of seeing your name plastered all over the internet, and read commentary about you calling you a liar, all sorts of other derogatory names, and saying you probably deserved to be raped because you were foolish enough to let it happen?

If you can say yes to all of this, and truly imagine what it is like to be raped, then congrats - you'd be one of the only 4% of people strong enough to do so. The rest of the men and women suffer in silence.\

Thank you. Hopefully, this will give some folks here the perspective they need to see that rape is unlike any other crime they are comparing it to and reporting it is extremely difficult everywhere but in Japan in particular.

That's why less than 5% of all rape victims in Japan ever come forward. Most of them take the pain and torture that is rape to their graves. Deeply sad.

MocheakeToday  05:50 pm JST

Fellas, no matter what happened many years ago, any woman can wait as long as she wants to accuse you of whatever. By this story, it seems he's already guilty as they brought up other incidents and arrested the guy and only her recollection matters it seems. Where's the evidence for arrest? We suspect you of committing a crime 8 years ago, even though it took her 6 full years to report it and two more years for us to arrest you. Have a witness every time you even get close to a woman. Soon men are going to start to use "Me too."

I am curious why some men have this irrational fear of being falsely accused of sexual assault.

As a male myself, I can't even get into that mindset if I tried. It's a bit like being worried about being struck by lightning.

I am far more concerned with the overwhelmingly higher likelihood of someone close to me, like my daughter, being sexually assaulted at some stage in their lives.

Guy seems to be a predator but there were also some good points brought up here.

If someone punched me, stole from me, vandalized my car or worse, I'd go to the police the next day, or within the week/month if the trauma was too big to recover, regardless if I had any evidence or not.

Imagine going to the police station tomorrow to report someone you know broke into your car in the summer of 2012.

RoyFeb. 21 06:21 pm JST

We suspect you of committing a crime 8 years ago, even though it took her 6 full years to report it and two more years for us to arrest you.

> So what you're saying is the police should have not investigated a crime that has been reported six years after the fact? Or just not as thoroughly?

If I report that you robbed me 6 years ago, the cops would say too late and laugh me out of the station. This guy is automatically guilty with no real proof as fast as we know.

girl_in_tokyoFeb. 21 08:35 pm JST

MocheakeToday 05:50 pm JST

> Fellas, no matter what happened many years ago, any woman can wait as long as she wants to accuse you of whatever.

> Hyperbole is not a valid form of argument.

> By this story, it seems he's already guilty as they brought up other incidents and arrested the guy and only her recollection matters it seems.

> Arrest is not an indication of guilt.

> An accusation triggers an investigation. If the investigation does not bring up any evidence to support the accusation, the investigation is dropped. Therefore, for an arrest to be made, there must be evidence.

> We suspect you of committing a crime 8 years ago, even though it took her 6 full years to report it and two more years for us to arrest you.

> Women often don't report rape. The report rate, according to numerous journalistic sources, is cited at only 4% in Japan. Not reporting does not mean no crime was committed.

> Have a witness every time you even get close to a woman. Soon men are going to start to use "Me too."

> Once again, hyperbole is not a valid form of argument, and you have used hyperbole throughout this post. Do you even have a valid argument to make?

Yeah, it was posted already but you don't want to see it. Take your blinders off.

Fellas, no matter what happened many years ago, any woman can wait as long as she wants to accuse you of whatever. By this story, it seems he's already guilty as they brought up other incidents and arrested the guy and only her recollection matters it seems. Where's the evidence for arrest? We suspect you of committing a crime 8 years ago, even though it took her 6 full years to report it and two more years for us to arrest you. Have a witness every time you even get close to a woman. Soon men are going to start to use "Me too."

Where does the article say there is no evidence?

I believe that the article does not say there is no evidence.

If the article does not say that there is no evidence, then where did you get that information?

From the article. lol If there was evidence, they'd report on it. This is JapanToday, so they wouldn't leave out an important detail like that.

If you don't have that information, why are you making this contention?

As I pointed out, the lack of evidence presented here surely means there must not be any evidence. Quality reporting and all.

Interestingly, I did not see any of you guys here criticizing the young men, calling them liars, or calling it "A BS way to destroy people."

I criticized the timing. I always do. Those boys put up with it because they were scared and wanted jobs. Or it didn't happen. Either way, speak up and speak up soon! Come with proof!

So what you're saying is the police should have not investigated a crime that has been reported six years after the fact? Or just not as thoroughly?

The police should definitely investigate and thoroughly analyze the evidence that has been provided.

Oh wait... there IS no evidence. wah-wah-waaaaah