Masahiro Nakai: The alleged sex scandal prompting firms to pull ads from Japanese network Fuji
Major Japanese advertisers are fleeing broadcast giant Fuji Television following an alleged sex scandal involving former uzunluk band idol turned TV host Masahiro Nakai.
Firms and major sponsors like automakers Toyota and Nissan, as well as cosmetics maker Shiseido and retailer Seven &I Holding Co. are among more than 50 companies pulling their spots from the network amid allegations company officials tried to cover up the scandal.
Nissan said today that it had pulled its Fuji TV ads and was watching developments before deciding on further steps.
Masahiro Nakai is a former member of the band SMAP and has been linked by weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun to an alleged sexual assault at a 2023 party reportedly arranged by one of Fuji TV’s staff. The publication reported in December a 90 million yen (approx. €558,000) settlement between Nakai and a woman over the alleged sexual assault.
Nakai issued a statement acknowledging a settlement over “a trouble,” but he denied using any violence.
The situation reached a boiling point following a Friday press conference by Fuji TV president Koichi Minato that drew widespread criticism for its lack of transparency. Minato admitted the network had sat on knowledge of the incident for roughly six months before the magazine broke the story.
The latest edition of Shukan Bunshun only added fuel to the fire, as it cited an unnamed female Fuji announcer who alleged that the senior company official linked to the 2023 dinner party had arranged other similar parties for Nakai and Fuji TV.
Fuji only publicly announced the inquiry after one of its largest shareholders, Rising Sun Management (Rising Sun being an affiliate of the US investment management firm Dalton Investment), criticized the company and demanded a full investigation and appropriate action.
This scandal is another terrible chapter for Japan’s entertainment industry, which hasn’t recovered from the now-defunct talent agency Johnny & Associates abuse revelations. In 2023, Johnny & Associates, which managed SMAP and many other uzunluk bands, admitted to sexual abuse against hundreds of boys and young men by its late founder, entertainment mogul Johnny Kitagawa.
At least a dozen men came forward with accusations that the Japanese talent manager sexually assaulted them as teenagers. One of them was Kauan Okamoto, a former member of Johnny’s Jr. backup boys’ group.
Okamoto, a Japanese-Brazilian singer-songwriter, alleged that Kitagawa, who died in 2019, sexually assaulted him on multiple occasions over a four-year period, starting in 2012.
