Previous Infidelity Exploring Claims that Toru Furuya Sought Alibi from Prominent Voice Actor

On the 22nd, legendary voice actor Toru Furuya (70) was reported by “Bunshun Online” to have been involved in a four-and-a-half-year affair with a female fan (33), which led to her pregnancy, abortion, and even domestic violence. On the same day, Furuya himself, along with his agency, issued an apology statement, but the repercussions on his work have already begun.

The official website of the reading theater event “Reading World UNESCO World Memory Heritage Return to Maizuru ‘The End of the Promise'” scheduled for August 10th and 11th in Kyoto Prefecture announced Furuya’s withdrawal on the 23rd. The reason provided was simply stated as:

“Due to various circumstances, we have decided to withdraw.”

Additionally, on the 24th, the live streaming service “SHOWROOM,” which had been in its seventh year, announced the end of Furuya’s program, “Toru Furuya’s Heartwarming Thanks Room.” The official statement from the program’s website mentioned.

“We understand that some viewers may find this decision too sudden. However, it was made after consulting with the production team and relevant parties.”

“The article reporting the affair stated that the woman involved first met Furuya at a fan event in 2017 and gradually became infatuated with him. It was mentioned that she used to send fan letters and gifts to his agency regularly. There were also rumors among fans about her making significant ‘donations’ during Furuya’s SHOWROOM program.

If this is true, it would make sense, given that Furuya had sent a short message to the woman on New Year’s Day 2019, expressing gratitude and apology for the previous year’s events,” says an entertainment journalist.

Furuya’s personal life includes a marriage to a fellow voice actress in 1976, which ended in divorce in 1983. He remarried another former voice actress in 1985, and their first daughter was born in 1992. According to Furuya’s comments to Bunshun, he confessed the affair to his wife, who scolded him, saying, “You’re truly foolish and shallow. You’ll have to live with this shame.” However, there are other rumors circulating as well.

“Around 7-8 years ago, it is said that Kouya-san and the famous voice actor Yūji Mitsuya (69), known for roles such as Tatsuya Uesugi in ‘Touch’, along with several other individuals, were drinking at an izakaya in Tokyo.

As the night grew late, Kouya-san reportedly turned to Mitsuya-san and said, ‘Please! Could you call my wife? I’m staying with a woman tonight.’ Some around were shocked by the frankness of the request, but Mitsuya-san reportedly agreed with a ‘Sure.’ It is said that Mitsuya-san immediately called Kouya-san’s wife and ‘alibi-ed’ by saying, ‘I’m drinking with Kouya tonight.’

In response, Kouya-san apparently expressed gratitude, saying, ‘Thanks, Mitsuya!’ Although I don’t think the woman mentioned in this report is the one in the recent news.” (Anime industry insider)

Regarding this matter, when Kouya’s agency was contacted to verify the facts, they responded with a puzzled tone.

“When we asked him directly, he seemed surprised, saying ‘Eh?’ He didn’t seem like he was lying. He said, ‘I don’t remember at all. Maybe I was drunk and don’t recall, but I can’t imagine asking Mitsuya-san for something like that in front of other people.’ Even from my perspective, it’s hard to imagine Kouya asking Mitsuya for something like that in such a situation.”

Furthermore, Mitsuya, who was treated as a ‘co-conspirator,’ posted the following on the 28th, denying the rumors.

“It seems there are rumors circulating that I assisted Teru Kouya-san in creating an alibi for his affair, but that’s a malicious rumor someone spread. Since the revival live of ‘Slapstick’ 11 years ago, I have had no personal relationship with Kouya-san. And I am very close with his wife, Ms. Majima. There’s no way I would deceive Ms. Majima!”

The impact of this affair report is significant, leading to such stories surfacing. As mentioned earlier, the reports have already affected Kouya’s work. It may become even more distressing for fans in the future.

“Recently, Kouya-san’s representative work is the popular series ‘Detective Conan’ where he voices Tooru Amuro. He himself was innocently delighted, saying ‘My popular phase has come!’ and continued to demonstrate his legendary status even in his 70s.

However, it has now been revealed that the woman involved in the affair became a fan of Kouya-san because of his role as Amuro, and furthermore, Kouya-san had been sweetly whispering Amuro’s famous line, ‘My lover is this country,’ replacing the woman’s name. There is a possibility that he may resign from the role of Amuro, and it’s even possible that the character Amuro may no longer appear in anime works.” (Same source)

It’s often said that the work itself is not at fault, but it seems unavoidable that the work will be affected.

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