A Fuji TV producer was arrested Mar. 28 on suspicion of sexually assaulting a high school girl in a hotel room after telling her that he would use her in a television drama, police said.
The producer was identified as Koji Shiozawa, 39. Police served an additional arrest warrant to Juichi Uemura, 44, a talent agency executive, also for alleged sexual assault.
Uemura allegedly called in early October a 17-year-old high school girl with whom he was acquainted and invited her to go out for karaoke. When Uemura and Shiozawa met her in Tokyo's Shibuya district, they forcefully took her to a hotel where they sexually assaulted her, police said.
The two men had told her that they would promote her as a model and feature her in a television drama, police added. Uemura was initially arrested March 17 in connection with the case for allegedly instigating violation of the Juvenile Welfare Law. Shiozawa reportedly told police that the girl was a willing participant in the act committed at the hotel.
Shiozawa has produced a number of popular drama series, including "Sugao no Mamade (Just the Way You Are)," a 1992 drama that featured singer Akina Nakamori.