Yuta Takahata Breaks from Mother Junko’s Defense as He Releases His Own Statement

It is true that he had a relationship with the woman

Actor Yuta Takahata (32) has spoken out at what he calls the 10-year milestone.

In August 2016, Takahata was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a female hotel employee at a hotel in Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture, where he had been staying for a film shoot.

He was later released after prosecutors decided not to indict him. At the time, the media extensively covered the story day after day, partly because his mother is renowned actress Atsuko Takahata (71).

On May 16, Takahata updated his X (formerly Twitter) account and addressed the scandal.

While acknowledging that

“It is true that I had a relationship with the female hotel employee,”

he completely denied engaging in conduct constituting sexual assault or any violent acts that resulted in injury.

Regarding reports at the time claiming that Takahata had called the front desk and said,

“I’d like you to bring me a toothbrush,”

thereby inviting the woman into his room, he also denied this account, stating,

“There are no such facts.”

He argued that there were major discrepancies between the media reports and what had actually occurred.

He further revealed that during settlement negotiations with the woman, a person claiming to be the woman’s partner had intervened in the process. According to Takahata, this man was a former organized crime associate who had demanded large sums of money from Takahata’s agency and related parties at the time. Takahata described this as

“an element that cannot be ignored in understanding the full picture of this case.”

An entertainment reporter for a sports newspaper who covered the case at the time told this website:

“It is true that a former organized crime figure appeared and demanded an extraordinarily high settlement amount from Takahata’s side—something unheard of in cases of this nature. I still remember how, midway through the incident, things took what we in the media would call a bad turn. In the end, his mother, Atsuko, who did not want to see her son publicly humiliated, stepped in and reached a settlement with the woman’s side, but the details remain unclear.”

The important point this time is that Yuta himself has issued a statement.

The magazine interview that was ultimately shelved

Up until then, it had been his mother, Junko, who had actively spoken out about the matter. For example, in July 2017, about a year after the incident, Junko appeared at an entertainment press conference and said:

“I deeply regret the trouble that was caused to so many people.”

At the same time, she also stated:

“I question why reports that are not factual have not been corrected.”

“Every night for about two hours, I hold a one-person press conference in my mind, telling myself that what didn’t happen, simply didn’t happen.”

When she appeared as a guest on Fuji TV’s Umezawa Tomio no Zubatto Kikimasu! in April 2018, she commented on her son’s situation:

“There are times when he’s doing well, and times when he isn’t. My son is trying somehow to move forward. As for me, there are parts of me that resent the whole world.”

According to reports, words such as he was set up and false accusation were repeatedly mentioned during the recording, but were all cut from the broadcast.

“At the beginning of 2017, Ms. Junko also gave an interview to a monthly magazine in the form of a written account, in which she put forward her view that after all, Yuta wasn’t at fault; it was a false accusation. The article was ultimately shelved. As these incidents illustrate, it was the mother who was most eager to restore Yuta’s reputation,” said a publishing industry source.

For that reason, even people involved in the theater world were surprised that a statement had been released under Yuta’s own name.

“Currently, he leads the theater troupe High Wire and stages productions. He is also a second-term member of the Tokyo Acting Workshop and is primarily active in theater. He has a cheerful personality and often serves as the mood-maker on set. I had thought he had already moved on from the scandal.”

According to sources, Junko had no influence over the decision to release the statement. The entertainment reporter from a sports newspaper quoted earlier said:

“Yuta is turning 33 this year. When you think about the rest of his life, it would be harsh for him to continue carrying that cross while being misunderstood. At the ten-year milestone since the incident, he likely felt there were things he absolutely had to convey to the public. Depending on how one sees it, this could also be viewed as a form of independence from his mother, Junko. That, too, must have been a major decision for him.”

Once mocked as benefiting from his parent’s fame, Yuta has now reached the point where he is raising his own banner. What impact this revelation will have on the rest of his career in the entertainment industry remains to be seen—.