Japan’s media world is buzzing today. This is after it came to light that voice actor Tooru Furuya, most famous for voicing Amuro Ray from the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, had a 4-year extramarital affair with a fan 37 years younger than him. Let’s look at what happened and explore Japan’s odd fixation with infidelity among famous stars.
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Legendary Voice Tooru Furuya Had Fan Sex with a Woman 37 Years Younger than Him
Earlier this week, the management agency of voice actor Tooru Furuya, age 70, posted an apology to X, confirming a news article from Shukan Bunshun magazine about a four-and-a-half-year extramarital affair he had with a fan, currently aged 33. In addition to his infidelity, which is a major cultural no-no in Japan, he admitted to raising his hand against the woman and pressuring her into getting an abortion. The letter expressed deep regret at betraying the trust of his fans and supporters. The voice actor promised to spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to them.
Which famous Japanese voice actors are married to each other? Read my article here!
In his letter, he explained that he met the female fan when she was 29 years old. He was touched by her straightforward feelings towards him and began an affair with her, spanning 4 1/2 years. He eventually got her pregnant, which caused him to end the relationship in 2023.
“Amuro, Ikimasu!” indeed.
The Most Popular Voice Actor of His Era
You have to look hard to find a more amazing voice actor than Tooru Furuya. He practically owned all the top roles ever since breaking into voice acting at the age of 15. His most famous roles include:
- Amuro Ray from Gundam
- Sabo from One Piece
- Tuxedo Kamen/Mamoru from Sailor Moon
- The hilariously-named Tooru Amuro from Detective Conan
- Yamcha from Dragon Ball
- Kyosuke Kasuga from my beloved Kimagure Orange Road
But Tooru Furuya will always be most famous for his role as Amuro Ray, the eternal hero of the Gundam universe and rival to Char Aznable. The only comparable actor of his statue to my generation is Mark Hamil.
I most recently saw Tooru Furuya in the stream commemorating the 35th anniversary of the Gundam series. Due to this new scandal, Bandai made that video private.
What Will Happen To Tooru Furuya’s Career?
Japan’s media world is somewhat unique in that they love more than anything else to catch a famous person in a relationship with someone other than their spouse. It’s more than a little confusing since Japan doesn’t base its morals on Christianity, yet is arguably more Puritanical than the U.S. on this subject.
The things that will get a voice actor into hot water include:
- Getting caught committing 不倫 furin, or an extramarital affair. A situation like this will sour fans’ feelings about the voice actor, who might be put on hiatus for several months. A voice actor could even be fired from their current role if the issue is sufficiently serious.
- When the press learned that Mob Psycho voice actor Takahiro Sakurai was in a relationship with a woman for ten years despite being married to someone else, many of his voice roles were recast.
- Media companies will react if a crime results in an arrest. When Aska, of the singing duo Chage & Aska, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, the On Your Mark Blu-ray was pulled from the set of Studio Ghibli Blu-rays that was about to be released. Fans received the disk a few months later, so that they could complete their collections.
- If the incident is less serious, so will the media companies’ response be. When SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi got arrested for public nudity during a bout of over-drinking, he lost an important advertising contract but was able to return to work soon after.
- Some crimes are absolutely career-ending. Your Name and Suzume producer Koichiro Itou (NOT director Makoto Shinkai!) was recently arrested for coercing a 15-year-old girl into sending him nude selfies. That’s not going to end well for him.
A Double Standard?
While the Japanese press is happy to ruin the lives of famous people for the comparatively harmless sin of marital infidelity, they turned a blind eye for decades at the most heinous crime of them all. This was, of course, the long abuse of young male idols by Japanese boy band creator Johnny Kitagawa. For years, the media ignored evidence and testimony because of the sway Johhny’s & Associates held over Japan’s entertainment world. Japan’s media were expected to avoid reporting news on this subject if they wanted SMAP or Arashi to star in their next TV show.
This story finally came to a head when a BBC documentary brought so much attention to the scandal that it couldn’t be ignored any longer. Over the past year, the company has been carrying out plans to distribute money to more than 1,000 victims (!) before it is disbanded.
Can the Gundam Voice Actor Recover?
What will happen in the case of Tooru Furuya? The industry will likely put him on a multi-month time-out, at least. Studios will recast any of his recorded but unreleased anime roles, quickly. There will also be compensation for his partner for the trauma she’s been through. Do you think the famous Gundam voice actor can make good on his promise to restore the faith of his fans?
Or…has Char finally gotten in the last word?
Thanks for reading this blog post about the scandal involving Gundam voice actor Toory Furuya. Do you have any thoughts on the situation, or on the odd fascination with extramarital affairs by the Japanese media? Tell us in the comments below!
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