National Idol Sexual Bribery Scandal Spreads... Fuji TV Chairman and President Resign Together

The national idol Nakai Masahiro at the center of the sexual bribery scandal. Photo by EPA=Yonhap News

The scandal involving allegations of sexual bribery against Nakai Masahiro, the leader of Japan's national idol group 'SMAP (Smap)', has spread widely, leading Fuji TV to enter emergency management by ultimately issuing a public apology and deciding on the simultaneous resignation of its chairman and president.

On the 27th, Fuji TV held a board meeting and decided on the resignation of Chairman and CEO Kano Shuji and President and CEO Minato Koichi, subsequently appointing Executive Director Shimizu Kenji as the new president. Fuji Media Holdings, the parent company of Fuji TV, announced in an apology statement, "We deeply apologize for the inconvenience and concern caused to all stakeholders regarding a series of reports related to our subsidiary Fuji TV," and announced these plans.

They added, "Our company and Fuji TV will fully cooperate with the investigation by the third-party committee established and announced on January 23, and will promptly prepare measures to prevent recurrence," stating, "We will thoroughly pursue management that values fairness and transparency to restore the trust of all stakeholders and enhance corporate value." They also said, "The management system established through this personnel change marks the first step toward reform, and we will review and implement additional fundamental management system reforms to regain trust."

Minato Koichi, Chairman of Fuji TV, and Kano Shuichi, President, held a press conference on the 27th to apologize and announce their resignation. The Fuji TV headquarters building, embroiled in allegations of sexual bribery. AP=Yonhap News Photo by AP

The sexual bribery case involving Nakai Masahiro was revealed when the Japanese media outlet 'Shukan Bunshun' reported that Fuji TV forced a female employee into sexual bribery. The woman in her 20s told the media, "I was sexually assaulted during a dinner with Masahiro and became pregnant," and "Nakai pressured me to have an abortion, and I received 90 million yen (approximately 825 million KRW) from Nakai as a settlement."

Nakai expressed, "I apologize for causing concern," but after stating his intention to resume activities since the settlement with the victim was completed, the controversy grew, and he eventually announced his retirement. However, on the 16th, a female Fuji TV announcer revealed that she was almost sexually bribed through the programming manager (by another male entertainer), raising suspicions that there was an organizational sexual bribery system at Fuji TV. As a result, the program where Nakai appeared as the main host was canceled, and major Japanese companies such as Toyota Motor Corporation, Nissan Motor Corporation, and Seven & I Holdings suspended their advertisements on Fuji TV, plunging the company into crisis.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.