By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-06-23 10:56:42 | Updated at 2026-06-23 13:34:25
2 hours ago
TOKYO – Dewi Sukarno, an 86-year-old Japanese TV personality and widow of former Indonesian president Sukarno, told a court on June 23 she was “very regretful” over her violent behaviour toward her assistant and manager in 2025.
During the first hearing held at the Tokyo District Court, she broadly admitted to the charges of assaulting two women at two locations in Tokyo.
Prosecutors argued that Dewi threw a champagne glass at her then assistant during a quarrel at a restaurant in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward in February 2025.
They also said Dewi struck her then manager in the stomach and chest at an animal hospital in October that year.
The manager took Dewi’s dog to the hospital after its health deteriorated, but by the time Dewi arrived, the dog had already died, according to Tokyo police.
Dewi said during questioning that she did not clearly remember the incident but acknowledged she should not have thrown objects at people, even if she was enraged.
Dewi, known as Madame Dewi in Japan, once headed a political organisation promoting the welfare of dogs and cats. She was one of several women to marry Sukarno, the first president of Indonesia.
She disclosed at the hearing that she had suffered financial losses of about 90 million yen (S$722,000) after her television appearances were cancelled following the incidents.
