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Actor Hirofumi Arai Arrested for Alleged Sexual Assault

Police arrested 40-year-old actor Hirofumi Arai on Friday due to allegations of sexual assault involving rape. Arai reportedly denied part of the allegations.

Police searched Arai's home on Friday morning. According to the investigation, Arai sexually assaulted a woman in her thirties at about 2:30 a.m. on July 1 after she came to his apartment to give him a massage. The woman reportedly resisted and went to police in Tokyo's Setagaya ward, where Arai lives, on the same day. A report of the incident was filed in late August.

The woman was an employee of a business that offers medical treatment, and the incident marked the fourth time that Arai had used the business. At the time of the incident, Arai had reportedly been drinking alcohol. Arai had signed a document from the business stating that he understood sexual acts were prohibited. The incident was Arai's first encounter with the woman.

Arai was born in Aomori Prefecture in 1979. He made his acting debut in 2001 and appeared in works such as the Blood and Bones film and NHK's Taiga drama series Sanada Maru. He was nominated for the Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role award in 2016 for his performance in the film 100 Yen Love. Arai has also appeared in live-action films such as Gintama, Bakuman., and Space Brothers.

Arai has starring roles in the Taifū Kazoku film, which is slated to open in June, and the Zenaku no Kuzu film, which is slated to open this year. According to the film distributors, filming of both works is complete. BS Fuji has suspended the scheduled February 10 broadcast of the irregular television program Utsukushiki Sakenomi-tachi, which Arai hosts. Discussions about the situation took place at the affiliated offices on Friday night.

Source: The Asahi Shimbun via Hachima Kikō

Image via Eiga.com