Japanese actor Sakaguchi Kentaro expressed his feelings after attending an awards ceremony following allegations of dating multiple people.
On the afternoon of the 2nd, the Seoul Drama Awards 2025 was held at KBS Hall in Yeouido. The ceremony was hosted by comedian Jang Doyoun and 2PM member and actor Ok Taecyeon, and Sakaguchi Kentaro drew attention by winning the Asia Star Award for the Netflix drama "Farewell, Even After That."
On stage, Sakaguchi Kentaro greeted in Korean, "Hello, I am Sakaguchi Kentaro." He said, "I am thankful to receive such an honorable and wonderful award. Being an actor is, contrary to appearances, a continuous series of quiet work. So even now I put my utmost care into each and every project," he said.
He continued, "I want to thank the director, the fellow actors, the staff, everyone who worked with me on this project, and I also want to thank all the fans who warmly supported us. I am truly grateful," bowing his head.
Then MC Ok Taecyeon asked, "You received the Asia Star Award today — did you have a good dream last night?" and Sakaguchi Kentaro revealed, "I was worried about how you all would accept me, but when I walked the red carpet earlier, your words were very warm, and I was extremely happy."
Earlier, Sakaguchi Kentaro caused a stir with a private life controversy. Last month, Japanese magazine Shūkan Bunshun reported that Sakaguchi Kentaro was living with stylist A, who is three years older, in a luxury apartment in Tokyo. In addition, allegations emerged that while he was dating A, he also pursued fellow actor Nagano Mei and dated her, effectively seeing two people at once. Moreover, Nagano Mei caused a major shock because she was revealed last year to have had an affair with a married man, Tanaka Kei, which had already sparked controversy.
Originally, Sakaguchi Kentaro was scheduled to attend the 30th Busan International Film Festival for the film Final Piece and hold a press conference and individual interviews. But as this controversy broke ahead of his visit to Korea, he canceled those schedules and only appeared on the red carpet held before the opening ceremony.
Meanwhile, at the Seoul Drama Awards 2025, winning the Asia Star Award and taking the microphone in public for the first time since the private life controversy, Sakaguchi Kentaro indirectly referred to the controversy by saying, "I was worried about how it would be received," drawing attention.
[Photo] OSEN reporter Park Jun-hyung
[OSEN]