“Is Jiro Sato Out of Line?” Concerns Over “Social Media Abuse” Against Ai Hashimoto Amid “Harassment Allegations”

Visiting an Actress’s Dressing Room Unannounced

Reports of harassment have surfaced involving actor Jiro Sato (57), whose hit movie *Bomb* is still fresh in people’s minds.

The report appeared in the July 2 issue of “Shukan Bunshun,” with actress Ai Hashimoto (30) alleging she was the victim. According to the magazine, during a scene in the Fuji TV drama series “Detective: Married Couples with Different Surnames”—which aired its final episode on June 23—Sato told Hashimoto, who was closing her eyes while driving,

“Open your eyes, not your mouth,”

while touching her chin, sparking a major uproar. Hashimoto had been traumatized by past harassment from men, making her an actress who had to exercise extreme caution regarding physical contact.

Although Hashimoto had explained these circumstances to Fuji TV and Sato’s manager before filming began, since the drama did not feature any explicit scenes such as bed scenes, she left it up to Fuji TV to decide whether to inform Sato himself. Fuji TV did inform Sato’s manager, but the manager, concerned about how it might affect Sato’s performance, chose not to tell Sato, and filming proceeded.As a result, Sato—who had already been called out for the aforementioned “chin incident”—flew into a rage. He reportedly stormed into Hashimoto’s dressing room alone and, in a furious rage, demanded to know what she was thinking.

“While it’s not uncommon for cast members to visit each other’s dressing rooms to greet one another, barging into a female actress’s dressing room unannounced and alone is extremely unusual. This is because a dressing room is a completely private space for an actor.Moreover, even after being cautioned by Fuji TV, Mr. Sato reportedly stormed in and told her something to the effect of, ‘You should quit acting.’ Regardless of the reason, it’s no wonder people would view this as going too far,”

said an entertainment agency executive in an interview with this site.

Through its lawyers, Fuji TV classified remarks that disparaged Hashimoto’s acting career as “harassment.” While Fuji reportedly demanded that Sato’s side take measures to prevent a recurrence, Sato’s agency stated in a press release issued on July 1 that

“We have received confirmation from experts that Mr. Sato’s words and actions do not constitute harassment,”

Fuji TV issued a statement on the 2nd, stating

“It is a fact that we issued a stern warning to the male actor regarding his words and actions and demanded measures to prevent a recurrence,”

. At the same time, concern was raised regarding the defamation and slander directed at the parties involved due to this series of incidents.

An Actress Who Dislikes Being Touched

In fact, hurtful comments are flying back and forth on social media directed at both Sato and Hashimoto. Among them, what cannot be overlooked is the criticism directed at Hashimoto:

“Is it okay for Ryusei Yokohama but not for Jiro Sato?”

.

This controversy arose because Hashimoto played the wife of Tsutaya Shuzaburo—portrayed by Ryusei Yokohama—in the NHK Taiga drama *Berabou: The Dream Tale of Tsuta’s Glory*, which aired last year, and there were numerous scenes involving physical contact, such as being hugged.

“Essentially, it’s the ‘absurd argument’ that while it’s fine to be hugged by the handsome Ryusei Yokohama, it’s not okay to be hugged by Jiro Sato, who’s approaching his 60th birthday,” said a sports newspaper reporter covering the entertainment industry.

The scene where Yokohama hugs Hashimoto was, of course, written into the script, and Hashimoto’s side had agreed to it. She was mentally prepared for the physical contact. Furthermore, since *Berabou* includes scenes set in an Edo-period red-light district, an “intimacy coordinator” was on set to support the actors with sexual depictions.

On the other hand, Sato’s act of “touching her chin” in this instance was not in the script and was performed while Hashimoto had her eyes closed. While Sato meant no harm, it’s understandable that Hashimoto would be unsettled by the sudden physical contact. Furthermore, there was no intimacy coordinator on set for this drama.

Online, there are also voices criticizing the strict stance on physical contact itself, but according to the entertainment agency insider mentioned earlier,

“This is by no means unusual; there are quite a few actresses who dislike being touched. Hashimoto isn’t the only one in this situation.”

In addition, another film industry insider noted,

“Hashimoto-san also dislikes having male hair and makeup artists or costume designers work on her. Apparently, she doesn’t want a member of the opposite sex touching her hair,”

he added.

Looking at the controversy as a whole, it seems that frequent misunderstandings and miscommunications among the three parties—Sato, Hashimoto, and Fuji—caused the situation to escalate rapidly into a major scandal. The sports newspaper entertainment reporter mentioned earlier said,

“My honest impression is, ‘Couldn’t they have worked this out somehow…?’ Because of this, both Sato and Hashimoto have been labeled as ‘difficult to work with’ in the industry. No one has come out of this happy,”

points out. With Sato’s side having refuted the claims, it’s now possible that Hashimoto’s side will make further assertions. Let’s hope this doesn’t turn into a quagmire any further…