Actress Ryoko Hirosue bows in front of the Hamamatsu-Nishi Police Station in Hamamatsu after her release around 6:20 a.m. on April 16. (Video taken by Hisaki Tamanaha)

Photo/Illutration Actress Ryoko Hirosue stands in front of the Hamamatsu-Nishi Police Station in Hamamatsu on April 16. (Suzuka Tominaga)

HAMAMATSU—Actress Ryoko Hirosue, who is accused of injuring a nurse by kicking and scratching her at a hospital, was released from custody as the media frenzy and speculation about the case continue.

Hirosue, 44, left the Hamamatsu-Nishi Police Station around 6:20 a.m. on April 16, eight days after her arrest.

Wearing a black jacket, she bowed deeply in front of media cameras before entering a vehicle.

Prosecutors will continue their investigation to decide whether to indict her.

Hirosue was arrested on April 8 on suspicion of inflicting bodily harm to a 37-year-old nurse at a hospital in Shimada, Shizuoka Prefecture, by kicking her legs and scratching her arms.

The actress had been taken to the hospital after a car she was driving rear-ended a trailer-towing vehicle on the Shin-Tomei Expressway in Shizuoka Prefecture the previous day.

The Shizuoka District Public Prosecutors Office’s Hamamatsu branch, which had received approval for her detention through April 19 from the Shizuoka District Court, announced her release on April 16.

In a statement issued on the same day, Hirosue’s office offered “sincere and deep apologies” to the victims.

Many TV networks have reported the investigation in detail, including a drug test.

Hirosue’s office said tests by law enforcement, with which Hirosue cooperated, detected no alcohol or illegal drugs.

The office added that no drugs were seized during a police search on Hirosue’s home in Tokyo.

“(Hirosue) has never been involved in drugs, from past to present,” the statement said.

Related News