Photo/Illutration The headquarters of Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Film director Hideo Sakaki was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting an aspiring actress after asking to talk with her privately on the pretext of giving acting advice.

Sakaki, 53, has denied the allegations, saying it is a false accusation, police said.

The Feb. 20 arrest came nearly two years after the premiere of his film was canceled following sexual violence allegations made against the director by several other actresses.

According to the Metropolitan Police Department, Sakaki is suspected of sexually assaulting a woman in her 20s in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on the night of May 23, 2016.

He became acquainted with her at a workshop where he served as an acting coach, police said.

Sakaki invited her to an apartment to talk more about acting after they ate and drank together, according to police.

He hinted at a chance to appear in a movie and made her take off her clothes, saying he wanted to check to see that she didn’t have any tattoos, police said.

Police said they have received sexual assault complaints against Sakaki from other women as well.

In March 2022, the Shukan Bunshun weekly magazine reported that actresses who have appeared in Sakaki’s films and others said the director forced them to have sex with him.

The release of “Mitsugetsu,” Sakaki’s film portraying sexual abuse in a family, was subsequently canceled.

At the time, Sakaki denied the magazine’s report through a representative in response to an inquiry from The Asahi Shimbun.

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