Kiko Mizuhara reveals another shocking story about sexual harassment in Japan’s film industry
Additional disclosures have been made by Japanese model and actress Kiko Mizuhara regarding sexual harassment on set in Japan.
On April 20th, as reported by Japanese magazine Weekly Moonchun, Kiko Mizuhara revealed in an interview the reason why she asked for an intimacy coordinator to be present on set while filming a Netflix movie. Intimacy coordinator is a person whose job is to make sure actors do not feel sexually uncomfortable or sexually assaulted during the filming process.
Accordingly, Kiko Mizuhara witnessed producer Umegawa Haruo groping an actress’ thigh during a meal while she was filming the Netflix’s movie ‘Ride or Die’ as the female lead in April last year. “I’ve been thinking for a long time that an intimacy coordinator should be introduced in Japan, and I suggested it to Netflix right after that meal,” Kiko said.
Umegawa Haruo then warned against Kiko Mizuhara’s request, saying, “I’m not a subcontractor, so don’t communicate directly with Netflix,” but Netflix later accepted Kiko Mizuhara‘s request, allowing an intimacy coordinator to be present at the filming site.
However, Kiko Mizuhara still could not comfortably continue her filming afterwards. A production official told Weekly Moonchun, “Umegawa Haruo treated Kiko Mizuhara as a hindrance. He sent her messages several times in the middle of the night, ordering her to not mess up the filming. Kiko Mizuhara was mentally exhausted to the point that she wanted to give up.”
Previously, to support the ‘Me Too’ movement that has been sweeping through the Japanese entertainment industry, Kiko Mizuhara spoke up in her interview, “This behavior has continued to exist in the entertainment industry. I have heard sexual harassment remarks from male directors a lot. They may have said it unconsciously, but I felt resentment in my heart.”
After her interview was released, Kiko Mizuhara complained while crying on her Instagram live that she was being attacked by hateful comments because she was of mixed Korean descent.
