Photo/Illutration Ryoko Hirosue (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Shizuoka prefectural police on April 8 said they arrested actress Ryoko Hirosue on suspicion of assaulting and injuring a nurse following a traffic accident that the star had caused.

According to police, Hirosue, 44, kicked the 37-year-old nurse and scratched her arm at a hospital in Shimada, Shizuoka Prefecture, at around 12:20 a.m. that day.

Hirosue and her manager were at the hospital for treatment for minor injuries suffered in an accident on the Shin-Tomei Expressway.

At around 6:50 p.m. on April 7, a passenger car driven by Hirosue rear-ended a large trailer on an inbound lane of the expressway.

Before receiving medical treatment, the suspect was walking around the hospital and then assaulted the nurse who stopped her, police said.

Hirosue was arrested by a police officer who came to the hospital to investigate the traffic accident.

Police have not said if the actress has admitted to or denied the allegations.

But the suspect’s office released a statement on its official website confirming the arrest.

“Ryoko Hirosue, the president of our company, has been arrested. She caused a traffic accident in Shizuoka Prefecture in a car she was driving, and as a result of a temporary state of panic at the hospital where she was taken, she injured a medical professional,” the statement said.

“We sincerely apologize to the victims and everyone involved for any inconvenience and concern this may have caused,” it said.

The company said Hirosue will refrain from all entertainment activities for the time being.

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