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Himizu Director Sion Sono Posts Statement After Sexual Assault, Harassment Allegations Surface

Director Sion Sono posted a statement dated April 5 on the official website for his Sion Production company, after the website for the Japanese entertainment and gossip magazine Shūkan Josei published an article on April 4 that featured anonymous actresses who accused Sono of sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Sono apologized for causing trouble to those concerned and to those who have seen his works. He also stated he would re-examine his behavior after having "a lack of awareness as a film director and a lack of consideration for the people around" him. Sono then claimed that Shūkan Josei's article had "many factual inaccuracies," and he stated he intends to "take appropriate measures through an attorney."

The Shūkan Josei article quoted an anonymous film distributor executive who claimed that Sono tells actresses that he will give them work if they have sex with him, and that he uses his position to coerce women into having sex with him. The article included quotes from an anonymous actress who claimed this happened to her. The article also quoted an anonymous actress who claimed she heard Sono talk about making sexual advances toward actresses working with him, and quoted actresses who claimed Sono sexually assaulted them or acted in a sexually inappropriate manner around them.

The Shūkan Josei article stated its staff contacted Sono at the end of March by phone to ask him about the allegations, and that Sono denied the allegations.

Before Shūkan Josei published its article, the Actors Vision workshop announced on March 27 that it had canceled a workshop featuring Sono, and actor Yuki Matsuzaki posted allegations on Twitter later that day that someone he knew who attended a past workshop with Sono and his followers was harassed at that workshop.

Matsuzaki then asked anyone who knew about any sexual assault, sexual harassment, or power harassment allegations against Sono to contact a reporter for the Shūkan Josei magazine via email.

Sono made his debut as a director in 1985, and is known for films such as Love Exposure and The Whispering Star. He has directed a number of live-action films based on manga, including Suicide Club, Tokyo Tribe, Shinjuku Swan, All Esper Dayo!, and the award-winning Himizu film. Sono was one of several Japanese creators invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2018.

In 2019, Sono was hospitalized after a heart attack and underwent surgery and then recovery. Sono most recently directed his first English-language film Prisoners of the Ghostland, which debuted last year.

The accusations against Sono follow other recent sexual abuse allegations in the Japanese entertainment industry against director Hideo Sakaki and actor Houka Kinoshita.

Directors such as Hirokazu Kore-eda, Koji Fukuda, Miwa Nishikawa, and more have signed a petition to express their outrage about sexual abuse in the industry, and calling for acts of sexual abuse in the industry to stop.

Image via Sion Production cache

Sources: Actors Vision's Twitter account, Yuki Matsuzaki's Twitter account (link 2), Excite News, Shūkan Josei Prime, Variety (Mark Schilling, Patrick Frater), The Hollywood Reporter (Gavin Blair), Sion Production, The Mainichi (link 2)