2024 Manga Adaptations (January - June)
Popular Japanese actor Masahiro Higashide and his wife, fellow actress Anne Watanabe, have been held in high regard by the public ever since they got married in 2015. They starred together in Asadora Gochisousan and were regarded as a perfect couple. They have three children together. Anne is the daughter of the veteran actor Ken Watanabe, who also cheated on his wife.
However, it was revealed a week ago that Higashide has been having a secret affair with the young actress Erika Karata. Apparently, that affair began 3 years ago when she was only 19 and was going on while Anne was pregnant with the couple’s third child. They starred together in Sleeping or Waking.
 |  |
(Masahiro with his wife and children on the left and with Erika on the right)
Masahiro’s management sent a fax to media confirming this story and announcing that they are not divorcing (yet?), but are separated at the moment. His cheating has provoked a huge backlash. He lost a few CM deals, and the ratings for his TV Asahi drama The Detective and The Prosecutor have also suffered, dropping from 12% to 9.7%.
As for Erika, her scenes from Prayers in the Emergency Room will be completely cut, and both her official website and Instagram have been deleted.
