TOKYO (AP) — Japanese network Fuji Television and its parent company said Monday that its president and chairperson will accept responsibility for a sexual assault scandal involving one of Japan’s top TV celebrities. Resigning immediately.
is at the heart of the scandal. Masahiro Nakai, A former leader of Japan’s once-popular boy band SMAP, and his costly settlement with a woman for allegedly sexually assaulting him at a 2023 dinner party that Fuji TV staff allegedly helped organize. Who was
The allegations were revealed in magazine articles in December and have since prompted claims of a systematic cover-up by Fuji TV executives. Public outrage over the lack of transparency and clarity in the network News conference earlier this month led by An avalanche of advertising losses At Fuji, one of the networks where Nakai worked.
Koichi Minato, president of Fuji Television Network, said his company mishandled the matter.
Minato said, “We deeply regret that we mishandled the case due to our lack of awareness of human rights and corporate governance… and as a result our response to the woman involved was inadequate. ” “We are very sorry for destroying our reputation.”
Minato said the case violated the woman’s human rights, without elaborating on confidentiality grounds. He said it was handled as an “exceptional” case requiring maximum confidentiality and sensitivity to the woman’s mental health and was shared by a small group of officials. He said the company had continued to allow Nakai to appear in Fuji shows for a year and six months, but refused to cover up the case because a big star was involved.
Minato said he did not think what happened was sexual harassment and that the case was not reported to the company’s compliance office until the magazine’s report came out.
He also denied the involvement of a Fuji TV employee but said the employee had previously organized barbecues and other parties for Nakai, which needed to be investigated.
Fuji officials also acknowledged that female announcers and other female employees had attended parties for stars, talent agency executives and sponsors in the past, though they denied sexual favors. Minto said she believes senior officials are complacent about outdated gender roles and now “need to update their mindset.”
Nakai announced her retirement from show business last Thursday, which has been hit by a series of sexual assault allegations in recent years, seen as part of the #MeToo movement that began in the West in the 2010s. goes He said he was taking responsibility for the “disruption” and the resulting massive business losses. He had earlier denied any violence or involvement of any third party.
Minto said she last saw the victim last summer when she went to his office to tell him she was quitting.
Shukan Bunshun Weekly, a magazine that exposed the scandal, also alleged that Fuji TV had long exploited its female announcers to entertain stars like Nakai.
The companies’ chief Shoji Kanoh was also resigning in a decision made at a board meeting before the news conference, officials said.
Japan’s entertainment industry is in the midst of a spate of sexual abuse incidents, including The abuse of hundreds of boys and young men by the late talent mogul Johnny Kitagawawhose now-defunct agency Johnny & Associates managed many boy bands, including Nakai’s SMAP.
Even after strong protests and criticism from their own employees, Fuji TV and its parent company announced after a board meeting last week that they had formed an independent panel of lawyers to be briefed by March. .
