Japanese broadcaster Fuji Television and its parent company announced Monday that its president and chairman will resign with immediate effect, taking responsibility for a growing sexual assault scandal involving one of Japan’s top talents.
The scandal revolves around Masahiro Nakai, the former leader of Japan’s hugely popular boy group SMAP, and a woman who was accused of sexual assault at a dinner party in 2023 that was allegedly hosted by a Fuji TV staff member. focuses on high-value settlements.
The allegations surfaced in a magazine article in December and have since sparked allegations of a systematic cover-up by Fuji TV executives. Public outrage over the lack of transparency and explanation at the station’s press conference earlier this month led to an avalanche of advertising losses at Fuji, one of the networks where Nakai worked.
Fuji Television President Koichi Minato said that the company’s handling of the incident was wrong.
Minato said, “I deeply regret that the incident was mishandled due to a lack of awareness of human rights and corporate governance.As a result, the response to the woman involved was inadequate.” “We deeply regret that we have lost trust in our company.”
Carmakers Nissan and Toyota were also among the companies that pulled advertising from Fuji TV, BBC News reported.
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Minato said the incident violated women’s human rights, but declined to provide details citing privacy. He said the incident was treated as a “special” case that required maximum confidentiality and careful attention to the woman’s mental health, and was shared by a small group of officials. According to him, the company continued to allow Nakai to appear on Fuji programs for 1 year and 6 months, but denied covering up the incident because a major star was involved.
Minato said he had no idea what happened was a sexual assault and said the incident was not reported to the company’s compliance department until after the magazine’s report.
He also denied involvement of a Fuji TV employee, but said an investigation was needed into allegations that the employee had previously organized barbecues and other parties for Nakai.
Fuji officials also admitted that female announcers and other female employees had attended parties for stars, talent agency executives, and sponsors in the past, but denied providing sexual services. Minato said he believes top government officials have become complacent with outdated gender roles and now need to “think differently.”
Nakai announced her retirement from Japanese entertainment last Thursday, but the country has already been hit by a series of sexual assault allegations in recent years, seen as an afterthought to the #MeToo movement that began in Western countries in the 2010s. He said he was responsible for the resulting “trouble” and huge business losses.
Nakai apologized, saying, “I take full responsibility,” and “I sincerely apologize.”
He previously issued a statement saying some of the reports were “untrue.”
Minato said the last time he saw the woman was last summer when she came to his office to tell him she was retiring.
Weekly Bunshun, one of the magazines that exposed the scandal, also claimed that Fuji TV had been exploiting female announcers for years to entertain stars like Nakai.
According to people familiar with the matter, the chairman of both companies, Shuji Kano, was also scheduled to resign as a result of a decision made by the board of directors prior to the January 17 press conference.
Japan’s entertainment industry is in the midst of a wave of sexual assault cases. This includes the abuse of hundreds of boys and young people by the late talent mogul Johnny Kitagawa. His agency, Johnny’s Jimusho, is currently disbanded, but he managed many boy bands within it. Nakai belonged to it.
Hitoshi Matsumoto, 61, one of Japan’s most popular comedians, has also been accused of sexual assault by two women.
After massive protests and criticism from its own employees, Fuji Television and its parent company announced after last week’s board of directors meeting that they would form an independent panel of lawyers and submit a proposal by March.
While tabloid reports about Nakai sparked a frenzy of coverage, most Japanese media outlets have taken a cautious stance, referring to the allegations as sexual “trouble” or misconduct.
Some media outlets have reported on the culture unique to the Japanese entertainment industry of recruiting top presenters to dinner and inviting female staff to such parties.
contributed to this report.
