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Yuta Takahata is a 23-year-old Japanese actor who has appeared already in a couple of movies (L [2016] and Okaasan no Ki [2015], albeit in very minor roles) and several TV dramas and TV movies. He is becoming a well-known face on TV, and is the son of veteran actress Atsuko Takahata and actor Ryosuke Ohtani.

Japan was shocked to learn last month, on August 23, that Yuta Takahata had been arrested for rape - the rape of a female staff member at a hotel he was staying at in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture. Then, last Friday, on September 9 - just 17 days after his arrest - Takahata was released on bail after the Gunma public prosecutor's office decided to drop charges against him.

Far from denying the crime, Takahata's mother and Takahata himself have apologized for the incident, suggesting that it is a very clear cut case, and that conviction would have been likely in the case of a prosecution. During the time of his brief incarceration, it was conjectured that Takahata would get a prison sentence of about 7 or 8 years. The reason for eventually deciding not to prosecute him was not given.
Newsworthy as this all is, it was not that blogworthy - until today. The Tokyo Sports newspaper reported today that no less than 80 million yen was paid in an out-of-court settlement with the victim of Takahata's sexual assault.

"Out-of-court settlement." Now, I'm no lawyer, but in my mind, out of court settlements are things that happen in civil c...