It started as a scoop on a weekly tabloid: the claim that a former band of a former band star who became a top television presenter had paid silent money to a woman for unspecified offenses.
Other articles followed, arguing that it was a sexual assault and causing a wave of public rage not only for the former singer but also to his employer, a large television body, for the way he handled the situation.
On Thursday, the man at the center of the controversy announced his retirement, but the incident had already turned into a time of account. An international investor has criticized the company, Fuji Television based in Tokyo and Japan’s largest corporate advertisers have lined up to boycott it. About 75 companies, including Toyota, Softbank and McDonald’s local operator, have made ads and sponsorships.
Not a single ad shows now in the station’s planning. The advertising spots are now full of unpaid public service announcements. Tens of millions of dollars are at stake in the revenue of CEOs called Fuji TV to address the issue.
“We will stop putting ads with the company until a thorough investigation is conducted, clarifying the facts and taking appropriate measures,” said Takeshi Minakata, president of the Kirin Beverage Production Company, in a statement, which added that the company was acting. “Based on our human rights policy”.
Experts say anger reveals a new intolerance of sexual misconduct that started with an older scandal. Two years ago, it was revealed that the founder of a leading talent agency had sexually abused young men for decades. He died in 2019 without ever dealing with any category and corporate sponsors were accused of ignoring the offense to Johnny & Associates.
This time, big companies are willing to show that things have changed.
“The Johnny scandal has marked a turning point,” said Ryu Honma, who has written extensively about the advertising and media industry. “The sponsors were accused of complicity for their inactivity.”
The current case came to light in mid -December, when a weekly tabloid named Josei Seven said Masahiro Nakai, of the dissolved but still extremely popular SMAP group, had messed up “serious problems” with a woman.
The article said Mr Nakai, 52, had paid 90 million yen, or nearly $ 600,000, to the woman who has not been made public. Later stories from other local media have described it more clearly what happened as a sexual assault.
Earlier this month, Mr Nakai admitted that an “incident” had happened and paid to settle it. He said that he had not violence at the meeting, which took place in June 2023, and that he was therefore justified in his decision to continue appearing on television. No official investigations have been carried out on the case.
Relentless criticism and advertising boycott forced him to overthrow this decision. On Thursday, Mr Nakai announced that he was withdrawing from entertainment and dismantling his talent office.
“I don’t think this fulfills all my responsibilities,” he said in a statement, promising to “sincerely work” in any research. “I apologize once again from my heart to the other place.”
Anger has also increased on Fuji TV, where Mr Nakai was a popular presenter. According to a tabloid report, he was an employee of Fuji TV who set up the meeting in 2023 between Mr Nakai and the woman of the case.
Fuji TV initially issued an indefinite refusal of “references to some weekly magazines”. But he later said that he was setting up an internal committee to investigate the claim for Mr Nakai, as well as other media that he had long rewarded men’s talents by arranging meetings with female speech.
Fuji TV has been criticized for delaying the situation more immediate, as well as how it did it: at a press conference open only to selected media, which did not allow live flow or cameras.
At a press conference last week, Fuji TV president said his company learned about the incident shortly after the event, but did not reveal it.
“Our decision at that time was not to publicize the issue, but to respect the woman’s desire to return to work and prioritize her physical and mental recovery and protection of her privacy,” President Koichi Minato said. .
The press conference was also held after an American shareholder, an investment company under the name Dalton Investments, sent a letter to the Fuji TV administration, criticizing the company’s failure to react – much more to correct – its problems.
The situation with Mr Nakai “reflects not only a problem in the entertainment industry in general, but, in particular, exposes serious defects to your corporate governance,” the letter said. “The lack of consistency and, above all, transparency both in the report of events and in the subsequent unforgivable shortcomings in your response, are worth a serious conviction.”
The day after the Fuji TV press conference, large Japanese companies began to announce that they were pulling their ads.
On Thursday, Fuji TV’s parent company, Fuji Media Holdings, stood on it. The President, Osamu Kanemitsu, said that it is “imperative to regain the confidence of our employees, sponsors and viewers”. It announced that the company’s board of directors decided to set up an independent committee to examine Fuji TV’s response.
“It took time to spread the realization that they could not look at the other side,” said Honma, the advertising and media critic. “When big customers begin to leave, it brings action.”
