<figure id="attachment_469078" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-469078" style="width: 659px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0e129641"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/05/bc8167c1a16af33dd34dee33decb5f2e.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-469078" class="wp-caption-text">Yuta Takahata (‛16), who was released from the Maebashi Police Station after being indicted and released at the time of the incident.</figcaption></figure>
<h2><span class="strongInContent"> Yuta Takahata spoke for the first time about a male acquaintance on the woman&#8217;s side</span></h2>
<p> On May 16, ‛26, actor and theater troupe leader Yuta Takahata (32) posted a lengthy &#8220;official statement&#8221; on his SNS that has caused quite a stir.</p>
<p> About 10 years ago in August 2004, Takahata was arrested for the rape and manslaughter of a hotel employee, Ako, on the set of a movie, and disappeared from the public eye. This is the first time that Takahata has gone so far as to make an in-depth statement about the incident, which had a huge impact on the public.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I was surprised that he went so far as to talk about it,&#8221; said a producer of an information program.</span></p>
<p> I was surprised that he would go that far,&#8221; said a producer of an information program.</p>
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<p> At the time, wide news shows and weekly magazines reported daily on the arrest of Takahata, the son of the famous actress Junko Takahata (71), whose popularity was soaring as she appeared in NHK&#8217;s morning drama &#8220;Mare&#8221; the year before her arrest. Although a settlement was reached with the woman and Takahata was eventually released with &#8220;no charges filed&#8221; (prosecution suspended), this did not stop the media from pursuing the case.</p>
<p> At the time, a man who was an acquaintance of Ms. Ako&#8217;s was in the spotlight during the interview process.</p>
<p> This man was said to have been a major behind-the-scenes player in the settlement. In the September 30-October 7, 2004 issue of FRIDAY, the media reported that this man was a gangster.</p>
<h2><span class="strongInContent"> Information warfare involving the mass media</span></h2>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The woman&#8217;s lawyer, the lawyer from Yuta&#8217;s office, and the lawyer from the Takahata family were discussing a settlement, and a male acquaintance of the woman&#8217;s was also involved in the discussions. At the time, rumors circulated that the Takahata side had paid tens of millions of yen in settlement money to the woman&#8217;s side, but the truth remained unknown; neither Ako nor the Takahata side made any public mention of the settlement money.</span></p>
<p> Ten years later, however, Yuta, one of the parties involved in the case, revealed the details behind the settlement. In the statement he released, he said</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> This person (editor&#8217;s note: a male acquaintance) was later found to be a former gangster. It has also been confirmed that this person has been demanding large sums of money from his former firm and related parties.</span></p>
<p> The company also revealed that the male acquaintance was a gangster, and suggested that he was demanding a large amount of money for a settlement. In addition, he added, &#8220;I have also confirmed that there was a history of such a situation,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> We believe that the existence of this background is a factor that cannot be ignored in understanding the overall picture of this case.</span></p>
<p> Although he does not clearly state whether he accepted the acquaintance man&#8217;s request or not, it can be sensed from the text that he had an influence on the settlement.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> The fact that Yuta, who is one of the parties involved in the case, revealed behind-the-scenes details of the incident, even though it has been 10 years, is very significant. This is because that incident involved the mass media, and various information came out from both sides. For example, the Weekly Bunshun reported that Ms. Ako had entered Yuta&#8217;s room at his invitation and engaged in sexual intercourse. However, in an interview, Shukan Gendai reported that Ms. Ako told them that she was taken into the room forcefully when she went to deliver a toothbrush. In the end, the truth remained unknown, and only the fact that Yuta had been &#8220;arrested&#8221; remained.</span></p>
<p> (A producer mentioned above) It is likely that Yuta dared to reveal the existence of the former gangster in order to remove the disgraceful label and make a clean break with the past. However, not all the mysteries of the case have been revealed. How will he win the trust of the public in the future?</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> In the &#8220;Entertainment Reporter Channel&#8221; of FRIDAY Digital (YouTube), current entertainment reporters will be discussing the &#8220;Yuta Takahata&#8217;s 10-year &#8216;not guilty&#8217; plea&#8221; and &#8220;Why now?　The &#8220;dark side&#8221; of the case that was too bad,&#8221; they talk about the other side of the case in which Takahata was arrested on suspicion of rape and manslaughter in ‛16. It also discusses the question of why the confession is being made now, 10 years after the incident. The question of why the confession is made now, 10 years after the incident, is also discussed. He also delves into the &#8220;dark side&#8221; of the case involving gangsters.</span></p>
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<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="高畑裕太 10年目の“無罪主張”　「なぜ今？」ヤバすぎた事件の“闇”【芸能記者が徹底解説】" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0Zo4iv_9H7Q?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
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 Norifumi Arakida (FRIDAY Digital Entertainment Desk)

 Shinji Hasuo

 The arrest of Yuta Takahata caused a stir ten years ago. He suddenly broke his silence and made a statement about the case in his own words. Why now? The question remains, "Why now?" but the in-depth content of his statement has caused a ripple effect. ......

Yuta Takahata revealed the “dark side of the case” in his “10-year confession.

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