Ryoko Hirosue Bail Footage Exclusive to Nippon TV The Untold Story Behind the Scoop

Only Nippon Television cameras present

On April 16, actress Ryoko Hirosue (44) was released on bail at 5:56 AM. She emerged from the Hamamatsu West Police Station around 6:20 AM to face the media.

Hirosue was arrested and sent to the Shizuoka Prefecture police on suspicion of assault after kicking a 37-year-old female nurse at a hospital in Shimada City, Shizuoka Prefecture, causing minor injuries.

“The official examination found no illegal drugs or sleeping pills. It was also reported that a settlement had been reached with the nurse, and there may be a possibility of no charges being filed. If drugs are cleared, it will be difficult to charge her with dangerous driving resulting in injury. Due to the manager in the car suffering severe injuries, the charge will likely be negligent driving resulting in injury, leading to a minor penalty such as a fine,” said a reporter from a national newspaper.

Nine days after her arrest, Hirosue was finally able to show her face to the public.

She appeared in a black suit, looking slightly tired. She bowed her head in front of the press, smiling faintly, but there were no words of apology. As she got into the car, she seemed to relax slightly, exchanging smiles with those inside, possibly acquaintances.

This footage was actually only captured by Nippon Television. On the morning of the 16th, all the networks reported breaking news, but they only used past image footage of Hirosue. Only Nippon Television captured the moment of her release.

Given the immense public interest in the case, it would have been expected for the media to swarm. However, only Nippon Television was present, which a NTV insider explains:

“The Hamamatsu Police Station is under the jurisdiction of NTV’s affiliated station, Shizuoka Daiichi Television. Normally, when something happens in a local area, the local station handles the coverage, and later shares the footage. However, since they wanted to capture the exact moment of Hirosue’s release, the NTV team from Tokyo and Chukyo Television from Nagoya sent additional staff to assist in covering the story in Shizuoka. As a result, the NTV team obtained the information that Hirosue might be released early in the morning on the 16th. They were under strict orders not to leak any information, so no other stations got hold of it. Consequently, the NTV team was able to stake out from the early morning while the other stations missed it.”

If it were the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Public Relations

The only sports papers that managed to take photos were Nikkan Sports and Sponichi. Most of the media missed the opportunity.

“Due to the work style reform, only a minimal number of staff are assigned for early morning shifts. It’s very rare for a celebrity to be released this early, so they must have been completely caught off guard. If it were in Tokyo, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s public relations would have properly managed the situation, and such an occurrence wouldn’t have happened. Other stations must be devastated for missing such an important moment.”

As a last-ditch effort, other stations had to resort to buying low-quality footage filmed by an Asahi Shimbun reporter using a smartphone-like device. In that sense, NTV ended up capturing the valuable scoop footage.

After the release, Hirose’s agency posted on their website:

“Due to her mental instability, she will undergo a proper medical evaluation and, under the guidance of doctors, will focus on careful treatment and recovery.”

Once a massive star of the Hirose Boom, will she be able to make a comeback in the entertainment world?