If “Batman” actor Christian Bale, who’s in Tokyo promoting blockbuster “The Dark Knight”, was hoping for a reprieve from being dogged by assault allegations made by his mother and sister, he came to the wrong place.

Since making a public appearance in the Japanese capital on Monday, the 34-year-old Welsh-born performer has been asked by reporters about the allegations, which he has already denied after spending several hours at a London police station last week before being released without charge. 

“It’s a private matter,” he said at a red carpet event for the Batman movie which has smashed box office records in North America. And even though reporters had been told to focus their questions on the movie by the organisers of a Tokyo press conference, a nervous looking Bale still got queried by a Japanese journalist who wanted to know if Bale was ”okay” following the allegations.  

“It’s a private matter,” he said again. Maybe this time people will believe him.