50 brands including top brands like Toyota, Kao, Shiseido, Nissan and 7-11 have publicly pulled out their ads from Fuji TV following the SA case of a famous show host and a former member of a top boy band, SMAP, Masahiro Nakai.
In December, the top tabloid outlet, Shukan Bunshun, reported Masahiro Nakai's harassment on a female employee of Fuji. According to the report Masahiro Nakai led the employee to an non-consensual intercourse after a company's banquet in 2023 and he paid her 90m yen to settle the case out of court.
Following the report, Nakai apologized for public disturbance. Also, he commented the case had been resolved legally and the victim had been compensated, he saw no need to halt his activities. He emphasized that no violence was exerted.
Still, all shows he was on have been either suspended or had him edited out.
The president of Fuji TV, Minato Koichi, spoke out during the press conference that the company had been aware of the case since June 2023 but did not pursued to not aggravate the victim's mental health. He added that Fuji TV had set up a team to investigate the incident led by lawyers. Minato remarked that the banquet was a private one and Fuji TV had no involvement.
An unnamed news anchor of Fuji TV revealed that Fuji TV did hold more similar banquets to which multiple female employees and Nakai were invited to.