[Full disclosure] Makiko Esumi: “I was sued by the prestigious international school my son attended!”

It has been six years since she suddenly announced her retirement. The magazine’s interview revealed that Makiko Esumi, 56, once a popular actress, is in the midst of a bogged-down legal battle.

In fact, Ms. Esumi was sued for defamation last September by a prestigious international school that she had sent her son to. In April of this year, a new lawsuit was filed by the eldest daughter, eldest son, and second son of the school’s former president.

This is according to a source at Kay International School Tokyo (“KIST”) in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, Tokyo.

Esumi, who appeared in dramas such as “Shomuni” (Fuji Television Network), became a household name, but at the end of 2012, she allegedly instructed her manager to have Kazushige Nagashima (57) write “stupid son” graffiti at her home. Her work declined sharply as a result of this scandal, and she announced her retirement from show business in 2005. Since then, she has been living peacefully with her husband, who was a director at Fuji Television, and their daughter and sons. The source in charge of the matter continued, “‘KIST’ is a group of entertainers who have children.

The source continued, “‘KIST’ is a prestigious school where many children of celebrities attend, and Ms. Esumi enrolled her son there in around 2003. This led her to become friends with Mr. K, who was the chairman of the school’s board of trustees at the time, and this led to the current lawsuit.

According to the court documents in the lawsuit filed by “KIST” against Esumi last September, the school claimed defamation in the following manner.

In November ’19, it was discovered that Mr. K, the school’s board chairman, had gone out to dinner with Esumi without telling his family, and Mr. K apologized and then ran away from home. Subsequently, Mr. K’s position as chancellor was dismissed. Mr. K responded with a scathing critique of the school’s management on a special website bearing his name.

KIST” claimed that Esumi and her acquaintances had decided the content of the site, that Mr. K had no real authority over the site, and that Mr. K had not complied with their request to stop the site from being posted. They are suing Esumi and her acquaintance for defamation.

Meanwhile, in a new lawsuit that broke out in April of this year, Mr. K’s children are seeking to invalidate the “notarized deed of settlement agreement” that was exchanged between Mr. K and Esumi. What is the content of this notarized deed?

According to the complaint obtained by this magazine, a notarized deed was created in which Mr. K paid Esumi 203,020,400 yen on the grounds that “Mr. K’s eldest son and daughter were unable to attend the school due to rumors spread by the school’s directors that Mr. K and Esumi were involved in a man-woman relationship. The breakdown of the approximately 200 million yen is as follows.

Alimony
The cost of the education of his eldest daughter and son in Switzerland until they graduate from high school.
Translation fees for the eldest daughter and son
Airfare for the eldest daughter and son to and from Japan three times a year.
Travel expenses for Esumi to stay in Switzerland once a year.

A KIST official explained.

In fact, Mr. K died of pneumonia last January. When his family sorted out his assets afterwards, they discovered the existence of this notarized document, which also revealed communications between Mr. K and Ms. Esumi and others that were conducted on Mr. K’s cell phone, and they decided to file a second lawsuit.

According to the complaint, the plaintiffs, Mr. K’s children, claim that Mr. K was forced to write this notarized deed by Esumi after he had lost the ability to make normal decisions due to illness, etc. In order to isolate Mr. K, Esumi sent letters and messages in his own handwriting to the parents and other concerned parties at “KIST” claiming his legitimacy. In order to isolate Mr. K, Ezumi sent a series of self-written letters and messages to the parents and others involved in KIST, claiming that he was justified.

I have decided to file a lawsuit in order to vindicate my father’s memory.”

Regarding the series of lawsuits, this magazine sent a letter of inquiry to “KIST. The following response was received from Mr. K’s child through his representative.

When I was sorting through my father’s belongings after his death, I found out that before his death, he had realized that he had been cheated by Ezumi and others and was preparing to sue them for fraud, and that he passed away just as they were preparing to sue him. I think he must have been very disappointed. I even think that if only Ezumi had not appeared, my father would have been able to live a peaceful life without feeling indignation, and I even think that my father might have been killed by Ezumi. For this reason, I have decided to file a lawsuit in order to vindicate my father’s innocence.”

In mid-April, we interviewed Ms. Esumi directly as she emerged from her Tokyo home. In mid-April, we visited her as she emerged from her home in Tokyo.

–I’m Friday, and I’d like to ask you about the lawsuit with KIST (……).

There isn’t much I can answer right now. I’m leaving it all up to my lawyer. (Turning to the cameraman) I don’t mind if you take my picture, but can I take off my mask?　I’m totally better off without my mask than with it on.”

–I heard that you have notarized a contract that Mr. K will pay for your child’s tuition.

I’m not sure what to make of all this, but I’m not sure what to do. Anyway, please ask a lawyer. (Checking the camera monitor) May I take a look at the pictures?

After saying these words, Esumi handed the contact information of his lawyer to the reporter and briskly left.

Later, when we sent a questionnaire to Ezumi’s lawyer to confirm the facts, we received the following response. The answer was five A4 pages long, so we will summarize it here.

The plaintiff’s allegations that 00 (Esumi’s real name) was deeply involved in Mr. K’s running away from home and in the operation of a website that slanders “KIST” are both untrue. 00 was a victim involved in the dispute between Mr. K and Mrs. T. Mr. K proposed a notarial deed to apologize for his involvement, which 00 accepted. In addition, a complaint has not yet been received regarding the lawsuit filed by (Mr. K’s) eldest daughter, eldest son, and second son in April. However, Mr. K’s heirs, the children, have a motive to make factually incorrect claims regarding the notarial deed because they will not have to pay the debt if the notarial deed is invalidated. Therefore, the credibility of their claims should be carefully scrutinized.”

A former popular actress was sued in a sudden court case: The claims of both sides are in a muddy state, so it is unlikely that the case will be resolved in the same manner as “Shomuni”.

From the May 12 and 19, 2023 issues of FRIDAY