Film director jailed eight years for sex abuse

A film director was jailed for eight years over the sexual assault of two women actors, a court spokesperson and media reports said.

Hideo Sakaki, 55, was accused of assaul­ting the women separately – in 2015 and 2016 when they were in their 20s – under the pretence of “acting instruction”, Kyodo news and other media reported.

Sakaki’s film Confession was pulled foll­o­wing the accusations in 2022, part of a string of sexual abuse allegations to hit Japan’s film and television industry.

The Tokyo district court “sentenced the defendant to eight years in prison”, a court spokesperson said. Sakaki pleaded not guilty and appealed the ruling, public broadcaster NHK reported.

“This is a malicious and despicable crime that exploited the power imbalance between director and actor and gravely violated the women’s sexual autonomy,” the judge said, according to NHK. — AFP