It began as news in a weekly tabloid: an allegation that a middle-aged former boy-band star turned top TV host had paid a secret to a woman for an unspecified crime.
Other articles followed which claimed that it was a sexual assault and caused a wave of public anger not only towards the former singer but also towards his employer, a large TV company, because of the way she acted in that situation.
On Thursday, the man at the center of the controversy, Masahiro Nakai, announced his retirement, but that episode has already turned into a moment of reckoning. An international investor criticized the company, Tokyo-based Fuji Television, and Japan’s biggest corporate advertisers lined up to boycott it. About 75 companies, including Toyota, SoftBank and local operator McDonald’s, have pulled ads and sponsorships.
Now, not a single commercial appears on the station’s program; classified ads are now filled with unpaid ads for the public. Tens of millions of dollars in revenue are at stake as exasperated executives have called on Fuji TV to address the issue.
“We will stop advertising the company until a thorough investigation is carried out, the facts are clarified and appropriate measures are taken,” Takeshi Minakata, president of drinks maker Kirin, it is stated in the press releasewho added that the company operates “on the basis of our human rights policy”.
Experts say the furor reveals a new intolerance for the sexual misconduct it has sparked earlier scandal. Two years ago, it was revealed that the founder of Japan’s top talent agency, Johnny Kitagawa, had been sexually abusing young men for decades. He died in 2019 without ever facing charges, and corporate sponsors were accused of ignoring wrongdoing at Johnny & Associates.
This time the big corporations want to show that things have changed.
“The Johnny scandal marked a turning point,” said Ryu Honma, who has written extensively on the advertising and media industries. “The sponsors are accused of complicity because of their inaction.”
The current case came to light in mid-December, when a weekly tabloid called Josei Seven reported that Mr. Nakai, of the disbanded but still hugely popular group SMAP, had become involved in “serious problems” with a woman.
The article said Mr. Nakai, 52, paid 90 million yen, or nearly $600,000, to the woman, who has not been publicly identified. Subsequent stories by other local media more clearly characterized what happened as a sexual assault.
Earlier this month, Mr. Nakai admitted that an “incident” had occurred and that he had paid to resolve it. He said that he did not use violence in the confrontation that took place in June 2023, and that he feels justified in deciding to continue appearing on television. There were no official investigations into this case.
Relentless criticism and an advertising boycott forced him to change that decision. On Thursday, Mr. Nakai announced that he was retiring from entertainment and disbanding his talent agency.
“I don’t think this fulfills all my responsibilities,” he said in a statementpromising to “sincerely cooperate” in any investigation. “Once again, I apologize from the bottom of my heart to the other party.”
Anger also grew at Fuji TV, where Mr. Nakai was a popular show host. According to the tabloid article, it was a Fuji TV employee who arranged the meeting in 2023 between Mr. Nakai and the woman in the case.
Fuji TV initially vaguely denied “reports in some weekly papers”. But it later said it was setting up an internal committee to investigate allegations involving Mr. Nakai, as well as other media reports that it had long rewarded male talent by arranging meetings with female announcers.
Fuji TV has come under fire for being slow to address the situation more directly, as well as for the way it ended up doing so: at a news conference open only to select media, where no live broadcasts or cameras were allowed.
At a press conference held last week, Fuji TV’s president said his company learned about the episode immediately after it happened, but did not disclose it.
“Our decision at the time was not to make the matter public, but to respect the woman’s wish to return to work and prioritize her physical and mental recovery and protect her privacy,” President Koichi Minato said.
The press conference also came after the US shareholder, investment firm Dalton Investments, sent a letter to Fuji TV management sharply criticizing the company’s failure to respond to – let alone fix – its problems.
The situation with Mr. Nakaije “not only reflects a problem in the entertainment industry in general, but, specifically, exposes serious deficiencies in your corporate governance,” the letter said. “The lack of consistency and, more importantly, transparency in reporting the facts and the subsequent inexcusable lapses in your response deserve serious condemnation.”
The day after Fuji TV’s press conference, major Japanese companies began announcing that they were pulling their ads.
Fuji TV’s parent company, Fuji Media Holdings, made the announcement on Thursday. The president, Osamu Kanemitsu, said it was “imperative that we regain the trust of our employees, sponsors and spectators.” He announced that the company’s board of directors had decided in an emergency meeting to set up an independent committee to investigate Fuji TV’s response.
“It took time to spread the knowledge that they can’t look the other way,” said Mr. Honma, advertising and media critic. “When the big customers start leaving, that brings action.”
