Fuji Media also announces third-party probe to look into incident
Two executives of Fuji Media in Japan have stepped down from their positions over the organisation's handling of a sexual harassment scandal that involved one of Japan's well-known entertainers.
President Minato Koichi and chairman Kanoh Shuji announced on Monday their resignations over "trouble" between Nakai Masahiro, a former member of the now-disbanded boy band group SMAP, and a woman in 2023.
According to various reports, Nakai reportedly sexually assaulted the woman at a dinner party that was allegedly also arranged by one of the broadcaster's executives.
In a media conference in Tokyo, Minato said the incident may involve a "possible human rights violation."
"Looking back, we deeply regret that we failed to thoroughly examine issues believed to be behind this case, such as the nature of the dinner parties and gatherings with celebrities and related individuals," he said, as quoted by NHK World Japan.
Nakai also announced his retirement last week as he apologised for the incident: "I alone am responsible for everything."
The former pop idol reportedly paid the woman 90 million yen, or around $580,000, and they signed a non-disclosure agreement, Al Jazeera reported.
He also continued receiving work for a year and a half after the incident despite executives reportedly knowing about it, while the woman ended up needing a long period of recuperation and was unable to return to work, NHK World Japan reported.
Reports of the incident later emerged in December 2024 in news reports, which led to a highly criticised briefing from the company that excluded TV cameras and most reporters.
Third-party investigation announced
The organisation's handling of the incident prompted various corporations, such as McDonald's and Toyota, to suspend their advertising on Fuji Media.
This led to a 10-hour press conference in Tokyo this week in a bid to repair the damage, Bloomberg reported.
The company issued an apology for its handling of the case, as well as announced the establishment of a third-party committee to conduct a "comprehensive and independent investigation" over the incident.
"The third-party committee, composed of attorneys with no conflicts of interest, will also review the effectiveness of Fuji TV's response and the group governance from an objective and independent perspective," the statement read.
"The committee aims to analyse the root causes and provide recommendations to prevent recurrence based on the results of the investigation."
Findings and recommendations of the committee are expected to be presented by the end of March 2025.