Actress Ryoko Hirosue (42) was reported by Shukan Bunshun to be having an affair with Shusaku Toba (45), the owner and chef of a 1-star Michelin French restaurant, who is also married.
Ryoko Hirosue has been popular since the 1990s where she began her career as an idol. Her debut song in 1997, “5 Seconds Before Love” was a huge hit and sold about 600,000 copies. Since then she has built her career as an actress and appeared in popular works such as “Railway Man” and “Departures.” In 2003 she married Takahiro Okazawa and gave birth to her first child the same year but the couple divorced in 2008. She later remarried Jun Izutsu (49) in 2010 and gave birth to a son and daughter. In May of last year, she won the ‘Best Mother Award.’ and in April of this year played the role of the main character’s mother in the NHK morning drama “Ranman.” On the other hand, Shusaku Toba is a successful chef who is well known in the world of culinary. After entering the cooking world at age 31 he went on to open French cuisine inspired restaurant “Sio” and it became so popular that it is now difficult to make a reservation. Toba also has a wife and children, but still allegedly meets with Hirosue.
A close friend revealed to Bunshun: “Actually, Hirosue is falling in love with Toba.”
There have been reports that Hirosue visited another restaurant run by Toba in mid-May. When she appeared in shorts with big sunglasses and legs exposed, it was said that the two rubbed shoulders and chatted with each other. And after 9:00 p.m. on June 3rd, Hirosue went to check-in at a luxury hotel. Until just before, she was dressed in pure white clothes, but then changed into a full-body black outfit and hat. When she arrived at the hotel, she checked in with her eyes lowered and lightly pulled a large suitcase that was about half the size of her body and entered the elevator leading to the room. Toba was then also spotted arriving at the same hotel.
On the night of June 4, Bunshun reporters directly asked Hirosue whether or not she was having an affair. Her response was “Absolutely not. I’m married.” Toba was also asked the same question and responded with “No, I don’t have something like that going on. Well, if there is something that can be officially announced, I will contact you.”
Despite denying it herself, Hirosue’s agency Flamme decided to step in and post a statement on their official website. It read: “Regarding the publication of Ryoko Hirosue from Bunshun, we apologize for the inconvenience caused. We usually leave private matters up to the artists themselves, but after receiving this news report, we will be more cautious from here on out.”
On June 7 after the report came out, Ryoko’s husband Jun Izutsu made an instagram post with the caption “Light up everyone’s hearts.”
