Over the past few weeks, actress Kazuyo Matsui has been a fixture on Japan's tabloid TV shows for the very public battle she is waging against her actor husband, whom she has accused of adultery.
Her internet-based smear campaign against veteran actor Eiichiro Funakoshi recently entered a new phase on Friday when she posted an emotional six-minute YouTube clip in English to broaden her audience.
"My husband and I have been married for 17 years," Matsui, 60, says in the video, titled " 'The Truth' From Tokyo Japan."
"I found out that my husband has been having an affair with my best friend … She is married and even has a daughter!"
By no means is Matsui the first Japanese celebrity to captivate the media with sordid details of their private lives. But in a nation where harmony with others is prized, the extraordinary lengths she has gone to besmirch Funakoshi's reputation by revealing the most private of details, including his medical history and sexual habits, are nearly unheard of.
She has also weaponized social media, unleashing a spate of monologue videos on YouTube in which she wears a plain black T-shirt and almost zero makeup - a state she attributes to the fact that she is in hiding. As of Sunday, she was the most viewed celebrity blogger on the blogging platform Ameba.
But some question the veracity of her claims. HoriPro Inc., the talent agency representing Funakoshi, reportedly intends to sue Matsui for defamation and business obstruction, describing her smear campaign as "a problem we can no longer overlook," according to media reports.
