Advertisers flee major Japanese TV channel amid sexual assault claims against star presenter
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Scandal has raised questions about the industry’s seemingly lax attitude to sexual crimes. Japan’s Fuji TV is grappling with a major crisis over its handling of a sexual assault scandal surrounding star presenter Masahiro Nakai, with at least 50 companies pulling their advertisements from the broadcaster.
![[Japanese boy band SMAP members (L to R) Masahiro Nakai, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Shingo Katori, Goro Inagaki and Takuya Kimura in 2015]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/21/07/2192344577.jpg)
The scandal was first reported on 19 December in weekly magazine Josei Seven, which alleged that the sexual assault occurred last year at a dinner attended by former boy band member Nakai and a Fuji TV executive. The executive backed out of the dinner, leaving Nakai alone with a woman where “a serious problem arose between the two behind closed doors, escalating into trouble”, according to the South China Morning Post.
![[Then-Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao (left) shakes hands with Japanese pop group SMAP members in May 2011]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/21/07/GettyImages-114478171.jpg)
The victim has accused Nakai of committing “sexual acts against her will” in the magazine reports. Weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun reported in the same month that Nakai paid ¥90m (£471,960) as a settlement after a “dispute”. In a statement on 9 January, Nakai said he had “gotten into trouble” and that it happened “due to my inadequacies”. The statement added that “the case has been resolved following a settlement through attorneys for both parties”, according to a translation by The Mainichi.
![[No criminal charges were ever filed against music mogul Johnny Kitagawa, who died in 2019 at 87]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/21/07/GettyImages-1161102570.jpg)
“In this trouble, there was no violence such as raising a hand as reported in some media. With the settlement reached, I am able to continue my entertainment activities without issue going forward,” the statement read. Fuji TV denied Shukan Bunshun’s report that their employee had been involved, and Nakai’s statement said there “was no involvement of parties other than those concerned in this case”.
