14 hours ago
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The agencies of popular Japanese celebrities Mei Nagano, 25, and Kei Tanaka, 40, have refuted reports of an affair between them. On Wednesday (Apr 23), Japanese magazine Shukan Bunshun published an article alleging that Nagano and Tanaka had been seeing each other. Tanaka is married and has two daughters.
The two actors previously starred together in the 2021 movie And So The Baton Is Passed, where Tanaka played the stepfather of Nagano's character.
Shukan Bunshun also claimed that Nagano was romantically involved with South Korean actor Kim Mu-jun – her co-star in the TV series Caster.
In their report, Shukan Bunshun published photos of Tanaka and Nagano in close contact. The first is a mirror selfie taken by Nagano, reportedly taken in October last year, which shows the two actors holding hands while smiling.
Another photo, allegedly taken during a Halloween celebration at Nagano's home, shows them leaning against each other with Halloween stickers on their cheeks.
Shukan Bunshun also published photos, purportedly of Kim Mu-jun meeting Nagano and staying in her apartment.
After Kim had left Japan for South Korea, reporters from the publication spotted Nagano at a bar with Tanaka. The two eventually returned to Nagano's apartment, where Tanaka spent the night.
The following morning, Tanaka was confronted by a reporter.
When asked if he and Nagano were romantically involved, he denied the allegations and said: “I passed out from drinking, that’s what happened. She took care of me.”
Later on, when asked if his wife knew that he had spent the night at Nagano's house, Tanaka said no and added: "She knows what I’m like, so I think rather than being mad at me, she’d say, ‘Don’t cause trouble for Nagano.’”
Tanaka's agency has since issued a statement addressing the affair allegations.
"We want to believe that there was no affair. Kei Tanaka has been with our agency since he was 15 years old. He’s never been involved in any scandals with women before," it wrote.
"We were aware that he often went out drinking with friends, including Miss Nagano, but in Tanaka’s case, we didn’t think much of it. We didn’t conduct any internal inquiries. However, regardless of whether or not this is a misunderstanding, we recognise that such behaviour is already problematic. This is a situation where excuses are difficult to make. As an agency, we deeply reflect on what has transpired and strongly urge him to exercise restraint and self-awareness."
His agency also apologised to Tanaka's wife and family as well as to "the producers, agents, sponsors and fans who have trusted him".
Mei Nagano's agency has also released a statement saying that Tanaka and Kim are simply colleagues to Nagano and that "there is no truth to any romantic involvement".
“However, we have sternly conveyed to [Mei Nagano] that her actions this time could easily lead to misunderstandings.”
