Photo/Illutration After the Shukan Bunshun magazine reported sexual misconduct allegations against comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto in December 2023, two women were targeted for attack on social media. (Bunna Takizawa)

A woman who accused comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto of forcing her to perform sexual favors said she plans to testify in court about what happened, despite fearing for her life.

The woman, in her 30s, is one of two who stated in an article in the Dec. 27 issue of Shukan Bunshun magazine last year that Matsumoto made them perform sexual acts against their will.

“I’ve never forgotten the damage,” she said. “It was humiliating.”

Matsumoto, 60, a member of popular comedy duo Downtown, has sued the magazine’s publisher, Bungeishunju Ltd., and others for 550 million yen ($3.63 million) in damages. He said the article “was all in error,” and that his reputation has suffered enormous damage.

The defense presented its first oral arguments in the lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on March 28. The publisher’s lawyers asked for a dismissal of the suit.

The woman told The Asahi Shimbun that whenever she sees Matsumoto in videos or advertisements, she is reminded of the incident and feels that she is back at the hotel.

As for why she went public with the allegations, she said: “I didn’t want to pretend it never happened. I thought it was my mission to speak out, not to cry myself to sleep.”

After the article was published, posts on the internet accused her of being a “liar” and “motivated by money.”

“My testimony in the article is true, and I did not receive any money from the (publisher),” she said.

Because of these online posts, she remains worried about being doxxed and strangers entering her home. She keeps a kitchen knife by her side at all times, even while sleeping or taking a bath.

The woman commented on Matsumoto’s statement released on March 25 in which he said, “I want the truth to come out to the world, and I want to do comedy as soon as possible.”

She said, “I felt a sense of discomfort in the way he talks as if he is the victim.”

The woman added: “I felt that he has no intention of admitting that he had perpetrated a sexual assault or showing remorse. I have nothing but indignation.”

She said she plans to take the stand in the lawsuit to explain the truth to the world.

According to the article, the two women attended separate drinking parties at a hotel in Tokyo’s Minato Ward in 2015.

They said they had been invited by Kazuhiro Ozawa, 50, of the comedy duo Speed Wagon, and he never told them that Matsumoto would be in attendance.

The women said they were left alone in a bedroom with Matsumoto, where he told them things like, “Can you bear my child?”

He forced kisses on them and coerced them to perform oral sex on him, the article said.

Matsumoto, who filed the lawsuit on Jan. 22, has said, “There are no facts that would constitute ‘sexual assault.’”

The lawsuit said the article was “based on extremely sloppy reporting, featuring only one-sided statements.”

The publisher said the two women were interviewed multiple times, and that their words were carefully scrutinized for possible discrepancies.

After conducting thorough checks, the magazine was “convinced that (the women’s testimonies) were true.”

Matsumoto’s side has asked the publisher to release the identities of the two women.

However, the publisher said it is possible for Matsumoto to admit to or deny the allegations while the two women remain anonymous.

The publisher also asked Matsumoto to clarify which parts in the article he believes are “contrary to fact.”

The Asahi Shimbun also asked Matsumoto and his talent agency, Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., for comments on what the woman said in the interview.

Neither the agency nor a lawyer representing Matsumoto have responded.

HoriPro Com, a talent agency representing Ozawa, also declined to comment on the case, citing the ongoing lawsuit.

(This article was written by Amane Shimazaki, Bunna Takizawa and Kazufumi Kaneko.)

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