Cult Japanese filmmaker Sion Sono accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women

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Acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Sion Sono has been accused of multiple instances of sexual harassment.

The director is best known for films such as Love Exposure and last year’s Nicolas Cage-starring English-language horror Prisoners of the Ghostland.

A report in Japan’s Shukan Josei magazine features accounts from multiple female actors, who allege that the director offered them film roles in exchange for sex.

The alleged behaviour was said to be linked to Sono’s acting workshops, reported Variety.

The filmmaker has not yet responded to the allegations, though his forthcoming workshop has reportedly been cancelled.

The Independent has contacted a representative of Sono for comment.

Shukan Josei quotes an executive at a Japanese film distribution company as saying (per The Hollywood Reporter): “Even now, there is a director who has no qualms about saying ‘If you screw me, I’ll give you work’.

“His films are acclaimed and many actresses want to appear in them. He uses that to assault women as if it’s nothing. That director is Sion Sono.”

Sono is married to Megumi Kagurazaka, a former model who has starred in several of his films.

In 2019, Sono was rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack, causing a delay to the filming of Prisoners of the Ghostland.