Two Years After the Scandal: Director of “Older Man’s Love” Series Faces Legal Battle After Affair with Married Staff Member

A sequel to the popular drama series “Ossan Zurubu Love” (TV Asahi), “Ossan Zurubu Love: Returns” has been on air since January 5.

This comedy series, themed on “love between old men,” aired in the late-night drama slot in the April ’18 season and was a big hit. It became a social phenomenon and was selected as one of the top 10 new words and phrases in the “New Words and Trendy Words Awards” in 2006. The drama was directed by film director Ruto Toichiro (44).

He is a film director who belongs to Kansai Television’s production company. He was in charge of “The New Minami no Teio the Movie” and the movie “G-Men” starring Yuta Kishi (28) last year, as well as the dramas “Ten Women in Black” (Yomiuri TV) and “Bokutachi ga Yatte” (Fuji TV).

And he has worked on many high-profile productions, including “My Lawyer is a handful” (Fuji TV), which aired last year.’ His drama “Ossan Zurabu” broadcast in 2006 won the 97th The Television Drama Academy Award for Best Director, and he is one of the hottest drama directors in the world today.

(TV magazine reporter) Although Mr. Ruto is such a famous director, he is said to be facing a certain problem.

He has been accused of “adultery” and is awaiting trial. Actually, two years ago, the Shukan Bunshun (weekly magazine) reported that he was having an affair with a married woman on the drama staff, and the trial will finally begin.

The report in question was an article in the March 17, 2010 issue of Shukan Bunshun, titled “That Movie Director’s ‘Old Men’s Adulterous Line’ with a Married Makeup Artist.

According to Bunshun, Ruto had a home with his wife and child in the Kansai region at the time, but had rented an apartment in Tokyo and was working alone. He had a married woman, a hair and makeup artist, who went there. The “Bunshun” team photographed the scene and later directly interviewed Mr. Ruto. When asked if there was a relationship between a man and a woman, he replied, “No, there was not,

I don’t think so. …… But if you say that it is certainly beyond the scope of our work, then you are right.

He answered, “No, I don’t think so. When asked again if there really was no physical relationship, Mr. Ruto replied, “I can’t say that there wasn’t.

I can’t say that there is something that isn’t there. I can’t say that there is a relationship if there is not.

He denied it completely. However, Bunshun obtained the line between Mr. Ruto and the woman, in which the conversation that should have been evidence of the affair was written down in naked detail. The woman’s husband, Mr. A, who was also interviewed by Bunshun, confessed that he admitted the fact of the affair to Mr. A after hearing from his wife that Mr. Ruto had requested that they meet at his home, but that they should keep to their word that they had only a business relationship and not a physical relationship.

The victim’s husband filed a lawsuit against Mr. Ruto at the end of ’23

Mr. A filed a complaint against Mr. Ruto with the Tokyo District Court at the end of 2011, seeking compensation for damages,” said a person involved in the case.

This is what a person involved in the case told us. According to the complaint, Mr. Ruto and Mr. A’s wife “had been engaged in adultery on at least seven or eight occasions” from around May 2009 until the affair was discovered, and Mr. A claims that his wife has admitted her adultery to him. Accordingly, he is claiming damages against Mr. Ruto. The question is why a trial for adultery that was discovered two years ago is being held now.

Mr. Ruto approached Mr. A for a discussion through the Bunshun editorial department a few days after the news report. I am told that the parties did not discuss the matter, but Mr. Ruto’s lawyer responded to the amount of money Mr. A demanded as consolation money by saying, ‘The consolation money I can pay is 500,000 to 1,000,000 yen. He continued to insist through his lawyer that ‘this is the upper limit of the market rate for damages for infidelity,’ and the negotiations did not proceed without concession.

After several rounds of negotiations, at the end of 2010, the parties finally agreed that Mr. Ruto would pay Mr. A “2 million yen as a consolation prize. However, the parties were not able to reach a “so-called ‘settlement'”,

However, when they were negotiating the terms of the so-called “settlement,” Mr. Ruto again became reluctant. Mr. A, who could not stand it any longer, relented and made another concession, but he again said, ‘I can only pay 1,000,000 yen. No matter how much he urged him to pay, the lawyer repeatedly replied that he could not get in touch with Mr. Ruto and that he could not persuade him.

The payment of alimony was also based on the reason that he “caused trouble,” and to this day, Mr. Ruto has not admitted to the affair, nor has he apologized to Mr. A. “I have been involved in many well-known dramas and movies,” Mr. Ruto said. He has also told Mr. A through his lawyer, “I am involved in many well-known dramas and movies, so I cannot take responsibility by myself. Mr. A must have been convinced that Mr. Ruto, who has been dishonest for the past two years, has no intention of paying the fee, and this is when he decided to file the lawsuit.

The magazine asked the production company to which Mr. Ruto belongs whether a lawsuit had been filed and whether we could obtain any comments from Mr. Ruto regarding his current state of mind in anticipation of the trial, but we did not receive a response by the deadline.

I can’t go into details, but there is no doubt that we have filed a lawsuit against ……. The dispute with the other party has now reached the end of the trial. I have no other choice but to do so because the dispute with the other party has not resulted in any settlement and there has been no response from them in good faith. I have discussed this with my wife. We can’t move on to the next step until this one is settled.

Last year, Mr. Ruto produced “My Lawyer is…” and should be familiar with lawsuits and trials. …… We would like to watch the course of the trial.

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