TOKYO (TR) – On Tuesday, actor Masahiro Higashide, who is married to actress Anne Watanabe, apologized following revelations that he was engaged in an affair with another actress.
At an event promoting the upcoming documentary “Mishima: The Last Debate,” Higashide, 32, stood on the stage as a group of women surrounded him with microphones.
“I would like to apologize to persons connected to my job for any inconvenience this may have caused,” Higashide said before bowing.
The appearance was the first in public for Higashide since an article appearing in weekly tabloid Shukan Bunshun in January outlined his affair with actress Erika Karata.
End of the affair
The tryst began when Karata was 19 and continued for three years, including while Watanabe was pregnant with their third child.
After the release of the Bunshun story, the agency of Higashide acknowleged the content of the report. The actor and Watanabe are now living separately.
At the press conference, the actor confirmed that the affair with Karata had ended. “The greatest apology I can make will be to my wife,” the actor added. “I would like to apologize to her directly.”
Debut in 2012
In 2012, Higashide made his film debut in “The Kirishima Thing.” Three years later, he and Watanabe married. The following year, she gave birth to twin girls. The couple also has a son who was born in 2017.
The following year, Higashide appeared in a stage version of the novel “The Sea of Fertility” by Yukio Mishima, the subject of “Mishima: The Last Debate.”
Watanabe is the daughter of actor Ken Watanabe, who was embroiled in an affair of his own in 2017. When he was approached by tabloid Josei Seven to comment on the affair involving his daughter, he declined to do so.
