Matsuda Hitoshi’s Exclusive Wild Drinking Party Photos

“Before entering the hotel room, we received a warning, ‘It’s fine to express genuine joy, but please refrain from shouting names.’ Upon opening the door, a table was directly in front, with two sofas arranged around it. On the right sofa sat Mr. Matsumoto, and on the other sofa was Mr. Tamura Kenji. Also present was the scriptwriter for ‘Matsumoto Family’s Holiday’ show. As we hesitated on where to sit, Mr. Tamura Kenji urged, ‘Sit in between! Sit in between!’ and we found ourselves seated on both sides of Mr. Matsumoto.” (Ms. A)

The pinnacle of the comedy world is in a tight spot.

The December 27 issue of Shukan Bunshun (weekly magazine) reported that Hitoshi Matsumoto (60) of the comedy duo “Downtown” held a drinking party with his junior comedians in a luxury hotel suite about nine years ago and sexually assaulted a woman who attended the party. In response to this report, Matsumoto announced on January 8 that he would take a leave of absence from his entertainment activities, and on January 22 he filed a lawsuit against Bungei Shunju, the publisher of the weekly Bunshun. He is demanding 550 million yen as compensation for defamation.

While attention was focused on the trial of the man who had reigned in the entertainment world for so long, this magazine obtained a certain photograph. A person relaxing in a white T-shirt and black shorts. The person with a blushing face, perhaps very drunk, and a happy expression on his face with a woman on top of him is Hitoshi Matsumoto, the man who is in the middle of the controversy.

The photos obtained by this magazine capture a moment from an attendant drinking party held around five years ago in mid-October 2018. Ms. A, who attended the event, shares her account.

“I was invited to Mr. Matsumoto’s drinking party by a comedian named Watanabe Sensei from ‘Crossbar Direct Hit.’ At one point, Watanabe and I had a friendly relationship and would drink together. On one occasion, he contacted me asking, ‘Tomorrow, a big VIP is coming; can you arrange some girls?’ He specifically requested, ‘If things go that way, make sure to bring girls who are willing.’ Curious about who the VIP was, I shared these conditions with a friend and, with their agreement, the two of us attended the drinking party that day.”

Watanabe never revealed his name as Matsumoto, no matter how many times Ms.A asked him, and he used the expression “VIP” throughout the meeting.

On the day of the event, Ms.A and others met up with Watanabe near Umeda and had drinks as a group of three. Afterward, Watanabe led the way, saying, “Shall we go?” They headed to “The Ritz-Carlton Osaka.” The initial testimony describes the moment when Ms.A and her companions stepped into the suite where Matsumoto was staying. Ms.A continues:

“At first, Matsumoto and Tamura Kenji were lively, discussing show plans and such. Once things settled down, it shifted to a typical drinking party atmosphere, and they asked us, ‘What are your names?'”

After about 2-3 hours of casual conversation during the drinking party, the atmosphere suddenly changed. Tamura Kenji brought up, ‘Alright! It’s about time. Let’s each say the name of the person we like, and then we’ll finish. As participants were individually called to separate rooms, Ms.A, when taken to the adjacent room, was persistently pressed, “Among the four men, who do you like the most? If you had to choose, who?” Perplexed, Ms.A replied, “Well, then, Tamuken,” but after Tamura Kenji finished the tally, he declared, “Surprisingly, both of them chose Matsumoto-san!”

 “I and my friend were both surprised because we had answered ‘Tamuken.’ Matsumoto, in a good mood, laughed and said, ‘Alright, then three more!’ I politely declined, but Matsumoto playfully slapped my friend on the back, saying, ‘Tonight, it’s her. Now, let’s go over there,’ and took my friend to the bedroom. It felt like he was accustomed to doing this kind of thing regularly.

 

However, my friend seemed to have anticipated such a possibility beforehand, so there was no sign of discomfort. The remaining members and I discussed leaving the room, and once outside, we dispersed. When we hailed a taxi outside the hotel, Tamura Kenji took out 3000 yen from his wallet as taxi fare and insisted on giving it to the driver when we refused. Concerned for my friend, I said, ‘I’ll stay,’ but in the end, they forcefully put me in the taxi, saying, ‘Go home for now!'”

 

Matsumoto withdrew his juniors and Ms.A from the room and disappeared into the bedroom with his favorite woman. The fact that he took advantage of his position at the top of the comedy world to have his junior comedians gather women, and then choose his favorite among them to engage in sexual intercourse, must be described as malicious play.

However, the day’s drinking was not over yet. About an hour after the party broke up, Ms.A, who was worried about her friend who had disappeared into the bedroom with Matsumoto, received a phone call.

 

“I had sent a LINE message to my friend after the separation, asking, ‘Are you okay?’ However, there was no read receipt for a long time, so I was worried. When I received a call, I thought, ‘Maybe she has already left the hotel.’ However, when I answered the call, it was not my friend on the other end but Matsumoto.”

Subsequently, Matsumoto called Ms. A, instructing her to return to The Ritz-Carlton. The photos obtained by this magazine depict Matsumoto playing around with Ms. A and others in a drunken state after the phone call. During this time, Matsumoto reportedly said to Ms.A and the others, “I like having people ride on top of me.”

This drinking party had a prior request from the junior Watanabe to bring women who could potentially engage in sexual activities, making it a different case from the series of reports in Weekly Bunshun. Nevertheless, the fact that Matsumoto used his juniors to gather women and engaged in reckless behavior despite being married remains unchanged.

This magazine asked Yoshimoto Kogyo about the facts regarding the drinking sessions that took place and the sexual acts he engaged in with the women, but received no response by the deadline.

In the February 16th issue of FRIDAY, released on February 1st, detailed coverage of the aftermath of Matsumoto’s phone call to Ms. A, along with numerous shocking statements made by Matsumoto, will be reported along with unreleased photos.

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