Just a personal note: A bit hidoi, but I guess it serves him right for philandering. Nevertheless, I still like both of them as actors, not necessarily a couple. She is so much better off without him.
It's been one of the nastiest mutual consent divorces in Japanese
entertainment history, but kabuki star Shido Nakamura and Yuko Takeuchi
have finally untied the knot, with the actress emerging as the complete
victor, according to Shukan Shincho (3/13).
About 15 months passed since Takeuchi stormed out on Nakamura after
he was caught cheating -- repeatedly -- before they finally sealed
their divorce on the auspicious date of Feb. 29.
And not only did Takeuchi get nearly everything she wanted out of
Nakamura with the split, the divorce has also opened new paths for her
career to expand from the squeaky clean image she has become known for.
Few expected Nakamura and Takeuchi to last when they married in June
2005, with the actress then carrying what would become the couple's
son. It was still a shock just a few months later when Nakamura was
pulled over by the cops for driving drunk, and the tabloids learned his
ex-girlfriend Aya Okamoto was in the car with him while his heavily
pregnant wife was still at home. The final straw came for Takeuchi
shortly afterward when Nakamura was exposed having secret trysts with
celebrity Saki Takaoka and she walked out on him in October 2006,
taking their young son with her.
"It was their son who posed the biggest stumbling block in making a
clean break," an entertainment beat reporter tells Shukan Shincho.
"Shido always wanted his son to follow in his footsteps and become a
kabuki actor, but when he found it would be almost impossible to gain
custody, decided to turn his attention toward getting visitation rights
(which aren't always handed to parents in Japanese divorces).
Takeuchi's advisors initially even refused to consider allow him the
right to see his son. Fighting over that is what dragged the divorce
negotiations out so long."
Eventually, Takeuchi's side gave some ground, but not much.
"In exchange for permitting Shido to have periodic meetings with his
son, he had to agree to pay alimony, but I don't know what the amount
is," the reporter says. "He won't have to pay her anything in
compensation or damages, though."
Entertainment critic Masaaki Hiruma says that picking up favorable
terms in the divorce wasn't the only way Takeuchi beat out Nakamura.
"While the negotiations to end the marriage were drawing out,
Takeuchi was getting her career well and truly back on firm footing.
She started back (after childbirth) in commercials, then starred in the
movie 'Sidecar ni Inu (The Dog in the Sidecar),' and has since moved on
to take the main role in the TV drama 'Bara no nai Hanaya (The Florist
With No Roses),'" he says.
Takeuchi's TV show was easily the top-rating drama over the winter,
and the box office for "Chiimu Bachisuta no Koei (The Glory of Team
Batista)," her most recent movie released in February, is also doing
comfortably well. Read more from the Mainichi Daily News
Find Jdorama threads quickly with the Jdorama Index! Click
HERE.