Popular scriptwriter of morning dramas and “DCU” currently in a huge lawsuit with former adulterous partner

It is a love-hate drama like a drama.

Yumiko Aoyagi, 52, a screenwriter who has been active at the forefront of screenwriting for more than 25 years, is in the midst of a dragging court case with a former lover.

Aoyagi is a successful scriptwriter who has worked on more than 20 TV dramas to date.” He came into the limelight in 2003 when he took charge of NHK’s TV series “Kokoro” at the age of 33, the youngest ever. This spring, he is in charge of “DCU” (TBS), a Sunday theater series starring Hiroshi Abe (58). The show received high acclaim, recording an average rating of 14.4%,” said a source in the entertainment industry.

With such an illustrious career, Mr. Aoyagi has been involved in a dragging trial. The trouble began in 2004, when Mr. Aoyagi fell in love with a “wayward love.

Around the spring of 2004, Mr. Aoyagi met Mr. A (in his 40s), the president of a trading company that imports luxury goods, at a gym he attended. At the end of the same year, they became man and woman, and their relationship continued until the fall of 2008. From the time of their relationship, Mr. A had a wife and children, but Mr. Aoyagi was aware of this. Mr. Aoyagi himself also told Mr. A that he had a partner.

However, their relationship came to an end when Mr. A confided to Mr. Aoyagi that he wanted to redo his relationship with his wife after he suffered a stroke.’ In September 2008, they got into a heated argument that escalated to the point where the police were dispatched to the scene. In December of the same year, Mr. A was indicted by the prosecutors.

According to court records, “During the argument in September ’20, Mr. Aoyagi was punched multiple times in the face by Mr. A and kicked repeatedly in the side of his head. He submitted a medical report with multiple bruises and lacerations, in addition to broken ribs, and claimed to have suffered injuries that would require a total healing time of four weeks. Mr. A, on the other hand, countered that he kicked her only once, and submitted as evidence the security camera footage showing Mr. Aoyagi walking out of the apartment on her own feet and the absence of bloodstains at the scene.

The verdict was issued on September 15 of this year. The Tokyo District Court ruled that Mr. A’s evidence was insufficient and sentenced him to two years in prison and a three-year suspended sentence for the crime of assault,” said a judicial reporter for a national newspaper.

Mr. A appealed against the sentence. The trial is still ongoing.

However, this is not the end of the legal battle between the two men, whose love has turned to hatred. In June 2009, Mr. A filed a civil suit against Mr. Aoyagi.

”Mr. A filed a claim against Mr. Aoyagi for damages of approximately 30 million yen.” In one case in September 2008, Mr. A was detained until early November of the same year. During that time, Mr. Aoyagi used Mr. A’s credit card. He spent more than 3.3 million yen in about a month and a half, including about 600,000 yen at a beauty dermatology clinic and about 750,000 yen at an electronics retail store. In addition, I heard that he took several watches priced at over 2 million yen, a computer, and brand-name clothes,” said an acquaintance of Mr. A.

During the trial, Mr. Aoyagi claimed that the credit card was entrusted to him by Mr. A during their relationship and that he did not misuse it. As for the watch, he admits to possessing the watch and claims that “Mr. A purchased the watch at a wholesale price for commercial purposes, so the price is lower than the asking price,” and requests a review of the amount of the lawsuit.

When we sent a letter of inquiry to Mr. Aoyagi’s attorney to confirm the facts regarding the trial with Mr. A, we received the following response.

Based on confidentiality obligations, we have declined your request for an interview and will refrain from responding to your questions.”

Mr. A also requested an interview, but did not receive a response by the deadline.

Mr. Aoyagi has already agreed to return his computer and some of his watches. In fact, in July of this year, Mr. A reduced his claim to approximately 20 million yen. Still, it will take some more time to reach a final conclusion.

Unlike dramas, there is no plot to the bog-standard trial. How will it turn out?

From the October 28 and November 4, 2022 issues of FRIDAY