[theqoo] THE CASE OF A TOP GIRL GROUP MEMBER'S AFFAIR THAT SHOCKED EVEN JAPAN, AND LED TO THE HUSBAND'S EVENTUAL S*****DE

Japan's top girl group of the mid-to-late 90s

Speed

Speed is a talented dance girl group (by Japanese standards) that excels at both singing and dancing.

Morning Musume is also influenced by Speed, which is considered as staple Japanese girl group.

The visual member, Uehara Takako, 83'er

As a singer, she wasn't the most talented, but every group has a visual. Likewise, Uehara naturally fell into that position.

She even appeared in our country's drama.

Anyways, one year before Speed split, on March 2012, hip hop group ET-KING's member Tenn became engaged to her. And on August of the same year, they got married.

However,

Just two years later, on September 2014, Tenn suddenly passed away

Uehara, deeply shocked,

suspended all activities for a while,

but returned to the entertainment industry in October 2015, resuming stage activities.

And in 2016, she posted a tweet mourning Tenn.

"Today I realized that I'm living in the moment while thinking of someone precious. I'm thankful for this clear day."

However, on August 9th, 2017

Tenn's bereaved family revealed a shocking content in his will.

"To Takako,

Thank you, and goodbye.
I’m sorry that my body can’t have children. I’m truly, truly sorry.
As happy as I was, I became afraid of the future, it felt like there would be nothing left, so please forgive me.
Please be happy, even for my share.
I believe that, together with Abe Tsuyoshi, you’ll be able to overcome this.
Next time, don’t betray anyone. Breathe a little less.
Don’t lie, either. But please, someday, forgive me.
You’ll probably resent me, won’t you?
In the end, I’ll be a burden to you in many ways… I’m sorry.
When I think about the future, this is the best choice I can make.
Please forgive me for being selfish.
Someday, the day will come when you forget.
It will be okay, even though it will be hard for a while, please stay strong and be happy with Tongtong (nickname for the man she had an affair with).
Don’t open the car door, please call the police."

In reality, Uehara was having an affair with actor Abe Tsuyoshi,

Tenn who was so tormented upon knowing the truth that he ended up choosing s*****e.

The bereaved family discovered the content in Tenn's cellphone and there were photos of Abe and Uehara together.

If you're wondering who Abe Tsuyoshi is, he was playing one of the F4 members, Mimasaka Akira.

But Abe, as expected, was already married too, so both were having an affair.

The Japanese people, who had been heartbroken by Uehara's sobbing at Tenn's funeral, were deeply shocked. Even in a country where celebrity infidelity scandals are commonplace, this incident shocked even the Japanese.

The reason why Tenn's family only decided to reveal the truth 3 years after his passing is because Uehara said she'd throw away Tenn's surname, Moriwaki.

Even when speculation about his s*****e stemming from an inferiority complex compared to Uehara, which she was suspected to have contributed to the mediaplay, and rumors of her involvement with the yakuza broke out, [the bereaved family] endured it because she was a member of the family.

However, when she abandoned the Moriwaki family name and cut off contact with them, the bereaved family's anger exploded.

Moreover, the bereaved family's patience is said to have reached its limit as Uehara began dating a new lover and exposed their affectionate relationship to the media.

Faced with a barrage of criticism from the shocked Japanese public, Uehara ultimately decided to take an indefinite hiatus from her musical, ending with her performance in Aichi Prefecture. She then virtually retired, living a quiet life.

On September 13th, 2018

She announced her marriage with Kou Kazuya.

The new husband said, "No matter what anyone says, I want to protect my wife and our unborn child. I will protect my family."

The husband is also a bird of a feather,

he posted tweets mocking Tenn too saying "s******e is the mistake that parents who don't know how to raise their child". Not only this, he even mocked the bereaved family too. It became a huge controversy and he was laid off.

After her second marriage, she birthed a son.

And she also had another child after that.

However on July 2023,

Uehara got herself in yet another affair scandal

Ueraha established a company to manage an aesthetic salon and became the CEO. Her new husband discovered that she was having an affair with a young man, so he h*t her head.

She rushed to the police after that

and received therapy after her husband h*t her.

She didn't go home and instead, went to Speed member, Imai Eriko (the girl with the long hair in the middle)'s house to ask for help. She brought her two kids to take refuge there.

After that, they reconciled somehow and continued living together without divorcing. However, public opinion in Japan is at an all-time low...

Even Japan, which has seen its share of adultery cases, was shocked by the Uehara affair, and Uehara's image was irreparably damaged, so it's likely she'll have a hard time returning to the entertainment industry in the future.

I don't think she'll even consider it.

(For reference, Abe Tsuyoshi, her first affair, didn't divorce his wife.)