TOKYO (TR) – Actor Kenta Kiritani made a shocking confession during a television broadcast on Tuesday, casually revealing to a stunned audience that he has three wives, reports Sports Nippon (Oct. 13).
Appearing as a guest on the TBS cooking program “Takizawa Karen & Wada Asuka’s Feeling Kitchen,” the 46-year-old actor dropped the bombshell while discussing his past travels for the popular travel documentary series “Ururun Taizaiki.”
“I’ve been to Africa four or five times,” Kiritani explained. “Because of that, I have two wives in Africa.”
Bigamy
As host Asuka Wada and assistant Nadal gasped in surprise, Kiritani elaborated with a straight face. “I have two wives there, and one in Japan right now. So, I have three wives.”
When Nadal quickly pointed out that bigamy violates Japanese law, Kiritani laughed it off, explaining that he was simply following local regulations.
According to the actor, the marriages took place on an island in the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau. The village operates under a self-sufficient, polygamous system with a strict local law: only women are allowed to propose, and the men are forbidden from refusing them. As a result, the village chief reportedly has eight wives.
Dance party
Kiritani arrived on the island entirely unaware of the custom. While nervously walking through the savanna, a local woman came running toward him shouting, “Aiyaa!” Caught up in the sudden adrenaline, Kiritani shouted “Aiyaa!” back and ran toward her. The bizarre exchange amused the local children, sparking a massive makeshift dance party with about 50 villagers.
“Later on, I was told by two women that my reaction was what made them fall in love with me,” Kiritani said with a wry smile, identifying his African spouses as Elizabeth and Joanna. He added that Elizabeth was particularly serious, visiting him almost every day during his stay.
Return to Japan
When it was time for the camera crew to leave, Kiritani told his island wives he had to return to Japan. Elizabeth reportedly accepted his departure, telling him, “I understand your feelings, but there is one thing I can say: please don’t forget.”
Because the village lacked television or modern communication, Kiritani later wrote a heartfelt letter to Elizabeth in Japanese. However, he joked that his emotions were likely completely lost in translation, as the letter had to be translated by staff into English, then into Portuguese, and finally into the local island dialect.
Under Japanese law, Kiritani has only one legal spouse. He married a non-celebrity Japanese woman in 2014, and the couple shares two children.