Fuji Television sexual harassment scandal

In December 2024, Japanese magazines such as Josei Seven and Shūkan Bunshun reported on sexual harassment and assault allegations against former television personality Masahiro Nakai, and also alleged that executives at the television station Fuji Television (Fuji TV) were involved in covering up the allegations. The scandal led to many advertisers terminating their relationship with Fuji TV and the resignation of senior leadership in January 2025. Due to the scale of the problem, it has been called the Fuji Television problem (フジテレビ問題, Fuji Terebi Mondai) or the Fuji Television incident (フジテレビ騒動, Fuji Terebi Sōdō).
Following the allegations, first reported by Shūkan Bunshun in December 2024, the first press conference was held on January 17, 2025, by then Fuji Television President Koichi Minato. The conference was criticized, not only because it was held as a closed door conference, but with a limited number of members of the broadcaster's press club. Contents such as transcripts were not allowed to be published by Japanese newspapers, online Japanese news sites and even by Fuji TV themselves; nor live broadcast was allowed to be shared. And it was held on the 30th anniversary of the commemoration of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. The inadequate corporate governance and compliance system of the company, including slow responses to situations, was criticized, leading to advertising companies ceasing commercial ads on Fuji TV and its affiliates. Management responsibility of the executives was questioned, resulting in the resignation of president Minato and Fuji Media Holdings (FMH) and Fuji Television Chairman Shuji Kano. Furthermore, although not directly related to this issue, the responsibility of FMH and Fuji Television Director and Advisor Hisashi Hieda, and his influence over decisions taken by the employees and other executives of FMH, is also being questioned.
Pressure exerted by the media and the people, led Nakai to make the decision to announce his retirement from all entertainment activities on January 2, days after the first press conference, taking responsibility for this issue.
On January 27, Fuji Television held a second press conference, which also received severe criticism from the public regarding the content and manner in which some of the reporters asked questions to the management team. Shūkan Bunshun, which had initially reported on this issue, revised some of the original article content early on the day the second press conference was to take place, posting the "correction" on their electronic edition. As a result of this, there was a discrepancy between the press' questions and the management's answers at the press conference, causing confusion and leading to an unusually long press conference that exceeded 10 hours. Bunshun's editorial stance has come under severe criticism from public opinion which had developed into a major problem involving the entire media. Bunshun later apologized for the corrections.
In December 2024, reports surfaced in Japanese tabloid newspapers that Nakai allegedly engaged in nonconsensual sexual activity with an unnamed woman in her twenties in June 2023. After the incident occurred, Fuji Television executives were promptly informed, but the broadcaster did not respond against Nakai, and the matter was never widely reported by the Japanese media. Furthermore, although executives were aware of the issue, subsequent reports revealed that the company's compliance department was not informed and the information was not shared.
This started to change after it was reported by two Japanese tabloids, first with Josei Seven on December 19, 2024, then by Shūkan Bunshun on December 26, 2024. According to "Josei Seven", the woman was scheduled to have dinner with Nakai and a Fuji TV employee in 2023, but the Fuji TV employee was absent, and trouble broke out.
Fuji TV posted a statement on its official website on December 27, 2024:
The company issued a statement denying the involvement of the executive in question, but in a follow-up article on the matter, suspicions emerged that the executive in question had attended (entertained) a female announcer belonging to the company to a dinner party attended by Nakai. At this point, coverage in Japanese media was limited to tabloid magazines, which meant French media first reporting the incident, including Le Parisien and Le Figaro.
In addition, various stations suspended or withdrew programs in which Nakai appeared, including Fuji TV, which announced on January 8 the suspension of the broadcast of Nakai's co-hosted program Dareka to Nakai to happen on January 12, for the time being. The show, previously called "Matsumo to Nakai", hosted by Nakai and Hitoshi Matsumoto, which had been reported as to end in March 2025, in part due to Matsumoto's own problems regarding a sexual assault, was renamed to "Someone and Nakai", which welcomed new co-hosts, including Arashi's Kazunari Ninomiya and Tsuyoshi Muro, and having announced for January 12, Junichi Okada, who never got the opportunity to co-host. It was later confirmed that the program would end on January 22.
Some people are accusing Fuji TV employees of sexual harassment.
On January 17, 2025, Fuji Television was forced to hold a press conference in response to this issue, but it was criticized, leading to large-scale repercussions such as the full suspension of commercials.
On January 21, Kiyoto Saito, president of Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, a major shareholder of Fuji TV's parent company Fuji Media Holdings (FMH), and a major constituent company of the Fujisankei Communications Group, as an outside director of FMH and Fuji Television, demanded that FMH hold an extraordinary board of directors meeting, requesting an explanation from FMH regarding this matter in the joint names of all seven outside directors, including Saito. In response to Saito's request, the meeting was held on the 23.
Fuji Television held an extraordinary board of directors meeting on January 27. It is reported that discussions took place at this meeting, including the retirement of President Koichi Minato. A press conference was held from 16:00 on the same day.
This issue has been reported not only in France, but also in the American magazine Variety, the British newspaper The Times, the British BBC News, South Korea's KBS, Singapore's The Straits Times, along with German Japan-related media press Sumikai, the American news agency Associated Press, and other overseas media outlets have also widely reported on the problem, raising the level of concern.
Advisor Hisashi Hieda was said to be "on the run" (pun on the name of the Fuji TV show), since his car was not seen in the parking lot of the hotel he called "home" since the January 27 press conference. A source from the station said that Hieda had been trying to evade direct contact from media who want to get an answer from him. On February 27, during a press conference held by Fuji Media Holdings, after a regular board meeting, it was informed that Hieda, who was not present at the meeting, because of falling at his home and being in the hospital because of a compression fracture, had resigned as member of the Management Advisory Committee. FMH President Osamu Kanemitsu also announced that he and Fuji Television President Kenji Shimizu had been newly appointed as members, with himself taking Hieda's place.
The Management Advisory Committee was established in June 2023. The majority of its members are independent outside directors, and the committee is also chaired by an independent outside director. In response to inquiries from the board of directors, the committee discusses and provides advice and recommendations on general management issues, the appointment and dismissal of directors, compensation for directors excluding those who are audit and supervisory committee members, and other matters deemed necessary by the board of directors.
On the same day, Nippon Broadcasting System, a radio station under the umbrella of Fuji Media Holdings, the same company as Fuji Television, updated its official website. It published the results of an internal survey on "dinners with celebrities or people related to programs." It concluded that "no inappropriate dining with celebrities or people related to programs was confirmed.".
In response to this issue, on January 14, 2025, the American investment fund Dalton Investments, which holds approximately 7% of the company's shares, sent FMH a letter requesting the station to establish a third-party committee to investigate the incident, and restore confidence in the company. In response to the press conference, Dalton Investments sent a second letter to FMH on the January 22, calling the first press conference a "virtual car crash". They mentioned in the body of the letter a possible cover-up of the actions of upper management. They requested that a press conference with cameras be held within the week. On February 3, Dalton sent yet another letter to FMH, this time demanding the resignation of advisor Hieda, saying "He has immense control and influence over the Board of Directors, and this scandal has revealed that corporate governance is completely dysfunctional", "It's hard to believe why a single dictator has been allowed to rule this huge broadcasting group for nearly 40 years!." In the letter, Dalton pointed out that "sponsors and collaborators will not return unless this structure is urgently reviewed."
In addition, due to this issue and other factors, FMH's stock price fell 13% in three weeks. Takafumi Horie and fellow businessman and investor Shinta Tabata. When influencers such as Mr. Takeshi Okano, a lawyer and YouTuber, announced their intention to purchase FMH shares in order to participate in the general meeting of shareholders, individual investors reacted due to their speculations about the general meeting, and the stock price rebounded. The reason why FHD's stock price has soared despite the scandal is believed to be due to buybacks from short sellers, as well as FHD's low price-to-book ratio and unrealized gains in its real estate business (Sankei Building, etc.). There is also an article that shows that the sense of feeling has attracted attention.
NTT Docomo, a domestic company that owns 3% of FMH's shares, has also requested that Fuji Television investigate this issue and its causes, and has requested that Fuji TV report from time to time results regarding its investigation. In this way, major shareholders in Japan and overseas continue to press Fuji Television to take action.
At 3:00 pm on the 17, Fuji Television President Koichi Minato (at the time) held a press conference regarding this matter in the large conference room on the 10th floor of Fuji Television's headquarters, moving up the regular press conference originally scheduled for February.
The press conference lasted approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. Regarding the Nakai incident, it was revealed that it was already known in June 2023, immediately after the trouble occurred, and a new third-party lawyer was appointed to confirm the facts and verify whether the company's response was appropriate. The broadcaster announced the establishment of an investigation committee. President Minato made it clear that he himself was included in the committee's investigation. Minato commented that he was shocked about the news when Bunshun released it, because he had made dinner parties attended by female announcers a standard when he was producing variety shows in the 1980s ~ '90s, and it was one of the reasons why he had decided to offer a press conference. Comments on SNS regarding the "If it's not fun, it's not TV" slogan the broadcaster had in the 80s, pointed out that it could have very well referred to the dinner parties.
However, this press conference was held at the request of a press club that includes newspaper companies and other members. There were 33 participants from 19 companies. Weekly magazines, online media, and foreign media that are not members of the press club were not allowed to participate in or film press conferences. The Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) and the commercial television companies in Tokyo (excluding Tokyo MX) were able to participate in the press conference as observers, but they were not allowed to ask questions to Fuji Television President Minato. Broadcasting and video recording were prohibited, and photography was only allowed at the beginning of the press conference, and information on the contents of the press conference was only released after the press conference ended. As a result, the press conference was reported only through photographs, leading some to deride it as a "picture-story show" press conference. According to an article in Bunshun Online, in addition to President Minato, who had expressed a reluctance to hold a press conference, Masato Ishihara, the managing director of FMH who is close to Hiehisa, who is an advisor to the board and has influence within the company, also held a public press conference. The decision to hold such a closed press conference was made over the objections of some directors. Furthermore, at this press conference, the Independent revealed that President Minato said that he believed Fuji Television employees had done nothing wrong.
As a result, Fuji Television's response to the press conference was criticized by news companies and public opinion. Fuji TV employees (including former employees) have also criticized the station's stance at the press conference, and the station's announcer Manami Miyaji appeared on the news program Live News It! stated, "This press conference was not made completely public, including to the employees. I hope they will give an honest explanation to the employees, and sincerely make it public." Former reporters and news of the station Yuji Kuroiwa, who serves as a presenter and is the current governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, also commented, "I thought that the Fuji TV press conference would be broadcast live, so I was surprised that it wasn't broadcast. I was shocked to hear that there was no video." Additionally, there was a painting of Red Fuji behind the conference room where the press conference was held, giving the impression of being out of place to viewers. In addition, when reporting on the company's news program Live News It!, the caption read "Fuji Television President Apology", but complaints came through the secretary's office, so the caption was changed to "Fuji President Explanation".
On January 19, the Internet signature site Change.org posted a message that a former Asahi Shimbun employee and current Ryukyu Shimpo editorial committee member, Minami Akira, was the founder of a petition calling for Fuji Television to "redo" its press conferences. I started a thread titled "I demand the truth be revealed" and` January 17, "We apologize for the unfair press conference held on the day, promptly hold a fair and open press conference with no restrictions on participation or video footage and explain in detail the facts that we currently know." A signature campaign has begun, with journalists from various broadcasting stations and celebrities signing the petitions.
Toru Ota, a drama producer who once belonged to Fuji Television, served as executive officer and managing director of Fuji Television, and is currently president of Kansai Television, a semi-key station in the Kansai region affiliated to Fuji, was arrested on January 22 in response to the same issue. A press conference was held inside. The above-mentioned press conference at the port received a lot of criticism from media companies and public opinion as being "closed," which led to the suspension of sponsor commercials as described below, weekly magazines, freelance reporters, etc., with a policy of not refusing other media, and the press conference was held in such a way that non-affiliated companies were allowed to ask questions rather than as observers, but it was not broadcast live.
Regarding the issue with Nakai and Fuji TV, Ota said, "This was an incident when I was working at Fuji Television. It happened one and a half years ago.Kansai Television has no involvement in this matter. I would like to sincerely apologize to everyone and the staff for the inconvenience and concern." Furthermore, regarding the response at the time of the trouble, ``It was a very serious matter, so I raised it (reported it) to President Minato (Fuji Television President Koichi Minato) on the same day (the day I received the report), "She (the victim) aims to prioritize the care and privacy. So, a limited number of employees were caring for her, and I was wondering if they could have been a little more close to her."
Kansai Television also announced that nearly 30 companies had canceled their commercials due to this issue, and that they had been replaced with AC Japan PSAs. He thought that, in a certain way, "I was deeply shocked by this," complaining about Nakai and Fuji Television, and "regarding issues surrounding TV station staff and people in the entertainment industry, such as eating out with a female announcer as reported this time." Kansai Television also wants to conduct an internal investigation. "We are planning to conduct a thorough investigation in accordance with our human rights policy," announcing that they would conduct an independent investigation. Most press conferences lasted approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes, including a question and answer session.
The press conference held by Fuji Television on the 27, lasted about 10 hours and 25 minutes, with the full conference starting at around 4 p.m., and ending at 2:25 a.m. on the 28. 400 members of the press assisted in this occasion, including freelancers. The broadcaster promised that the briefing would not end until it had addressed every single question in the room. The press conference was shared via TVer, Nico Nico and Abema. The full conference is also included in Fuji TV's FNN YouTube channel. Chief producer Takashi Watanabe stated about the broadcast decision: "As soon as the press conference was decided, it was determined to show it as-is. If it seemed like we were hiding something, it would be the end of the company." The conference aired with a 10-minute delay. Regarding the decision about the delay, producer Watanabe had said that it was taken trying to protect the privacy of the people involved. "No one will believe a press conference that ends abruptly." From the beginning to the end of the conference, 10 programs were cancelled or postponed.
Along with now former Fuji TV President Koichi Minato, Chairman Shuji Kano and Vice Chairman Ryunosuke Endo (who had also said that he would resign, but until the probe of the committee was finished), Fuji Media Holdings President Osamu Kanemitsu and the new Fuji TV President Kenji Shimizu were in attendance. 87-year-old Fujisankei Communications Group chairperson and Fuji TV executive Hisashi Hieda, dubbed the "emperor' of the broadcaster, considered one of the most influential people in the company's decision-making process, was not present at the news conference and did not offer his resignation, which caused shock. Regarding why Hieda was not present, Kano said at the conference: "We do report necessary matters and consult (Hieda), however, the daily operations of Fuji TV were handled by myself and Minato. Hieda does not deal with daily operations, that is why he is not here today." Regarding how Hieda may take responsibility, Endo said that "all respective board members will take responsibility once the results of the third-party investigation are out."
Regarding the involvement of the Fuji executive in Nakai's dinner party, Fuji TV repeatedly stated that based on internal hearings conducted at the company, there was no evidence that the executive played a part in the incident, with Nakai reportedly also backing up this account to the network. Minato explained that Nakai had notified someone at Fuji TV about the incident in July 2023, leading company officials to realize that he and the woman had a different understanding of what had occurred. The company understood it to be a difficult and private matter between the two and therefore hesitated to step in to investigate further. Shukan Bunshun's correction to its original story noting that the woman was "invited by Nakai" and "assumed it was an extension of meetings that the executive had set up," but that it was incorrect to state that she was invited by the executive, was made in the morning, before the conference.
They informed that the third-party probe would be set under the guidelines of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, with a committee headed by Akira Takeuchi, a lawyer with a background in investigating fraud at major companies. Fuji TV's Kanemitsu stated that neither he nor the company had ties with Takeuchi, who he had only just met. Takeuchi would be joined by two lead members (one male and one female), with the rest of the committee members set to be decided in the future. The results of the investigation are scheduled to be submitted by the end of March. "This incident has brought home to us the weight of trust and the severity of losing it", said newly appointed president Shimizu. "We will take strict action against any deviant behavior and thoroughly implement measures to prevent recurrence of such acts."
At the end of the broadcast, anchors Minoru Aoi and Manami Miyaji looked back on the content of the press conference, and Hidetoshi Hiramatsu, editor-in-chief of the news department, said, "Fuji TV brought it on itself to have a press conference that lasted over 10 hours." Watanabe added, "Everyone felt the same way, so we didn't think anything of it. However, we had no choice but to wrap it up in the studio. While we aired the press conference as it was, we were producing it as a program, not just a stream. That's why we wanted to properly convey how we received it." About the lack of camera coverage at the press conference on January 17, Watanabe, who has been involved in information and news programs since 2003, comented: "Regarding company decisions as a reporter, I regret not having resisted it a bit more." He noticed the gap left between public and the broadcaster. Regarding the coverage by other broadcasters, neither NHK (which was covering the Diet) nor TV Asahi (which continued with their regular programing) covered it. The viewership of all the programs in Fuji TV covering the press conference was 2~4 times higher than the average of the previous 4 weeks.
On the 27, Fuji Television and its parent company, Fuji Media Holdings (HD), held a regular board meeting at the HQ in Odaiba, Tokyo. After the meeting, Fuji TV President Shimizu responded to the press. He announced the launch of the "Revitalization and Reform Project Headquarters". President Shimizu apologized to all involved and said it was a mistake to continue having Nakai on. The Revitalization and Reform Project Headquarters announced the launch of a working group to prevent recurrence and reform the corporate culture. Six measures, already taken, were announced, including strengthening the effectiveness of the compliance system, imposing tougher penalties on compliance violations, harassment, and human rights violations, clarifying and thoroughly publicizing the scope of those who can use the reporting system, formulating guidelines for dining out and meetings, implementing education and training on human rights and compliance, and initiating "dialogue" as part of human rights due diligence.
On the afternoon of the 27, Fuji Television held an extraordinary general shareholder meeting and a board of directors meeting, and decided to review its management structure. After the meetings, Fuji Television President Shimizu and Fuji Media Holdings (FMH) President Kanemitsu were interviewed. Major changes were taken to restore trust. First, Hieda's resignation as director in June; second, the reduction of directors from 22 to 10, with increased ratio of female directors to 30%, and lowering the age of new directors to around 50. According to President Shimizu, the decision to make the board of directors so compact was that they wanted to separate the execution of duties from the supervisory function of directors. Regarding the decision to make the changes before the third-party committee resolution, President Kanemitsu said that "it was better to do everything we could as soon as possible by aiming to restore trust. We recognized that the renewal of the management structure was a major point, so we wanted to make a decision and announce it as soon as possible". Regarding sponsors, President Shimizu said they don't have a clear image of what is ahead of April, for there are still about 70% of sponsors currently reserving their decision.
On March 31, the investigation report of the third-party committee was released on the official website of Fuji Media Holdings. The committee held a press conference at 5:00 p.m. on the same day, and in response, Fuji Television Network, Inc. and its parent company Fuji Media Holdings, Inc. also held a press conference on the same day, with the station's president, Kenji Shimizu, in attendance.
The investigative report alone is 273 pages long, and including the results of a separate questionnaire for executives and employees and a summary version, the total report is 394 pages long.
The report found that the woman had been subjected to sexual violence by Nakai, which falls under the definition of the World Health Organization (WHO). It was also found that there were numerous other instances of sexual harassment and power harassment by persons other than Nakai, such as a female announcer who was forced to attend a dinner party that was unnecessary for her job, where she was kissed by a male employee.
In addition, sexual harassment of female employees is rampant not only within Fuji Television, but also at advertising agencies, sponsors, program performers, and companies where interviews are conducted. New problems and allegations emerged, such as the discovery that many employees are unable to report problems because, in some cases, when female victims report problems to their supervisors, the information is leaked to the perpetrators and the victims suffer disadvantages.
In response to the report, President Kenji Shimizu apologized for the company's response, corporate culture, and governance, and promised to improve these issues at a press conference.
On April 4, 2025, Kansai TV President Ota held a press conference, and in it announced his resignation. Regarding his reasons to resign, he pointed out that his having been vice-president of Fuji TV, and its lack (or tardiness) of response, was a direct damage for the station (Kansai TV). According to a station spokesman, Kansai TV is to have losses adding up to 900 million by the end of April (losses from January to March alone were of 300 million), total sales about 70% less than the previous year, with 63 companies currently stopping the airing of commercials within the programming, and about 170 complainants, many asking for Ota's resignation. During the press conference, Ota announced that he would be replaced by Sumiro Fukui, Chairman of the Board of Directors, for the time being, and that Hieda would remain on the board of directors until June.
Membership in the labor union, which had a low membership rate for a commercial broadcaster, has increased rapidly, and there are also reports that several announcers have newly joined.
On the edition of Mezamashi 8 broadcast on January 20, the company's announcer Yoshihisa Sakanushi [ja] cried when he brought up this issue during the live broadcast, but this has also been criticized by public opinion.
In response to the heated news coverage, female announcers were required to take taxis to and from work to avoid direct coverage. This is the complete opposite of what had happened in 2015, when the network faced very low levels of viewership, that it affected employees salaries. Bonuses and other extra income, such as taxi fares, were cut from employee's salaries. The company banned the use of taxis outside of late night and early morning hours to cut costs and encouraged people to carpool. Popular female announcers sometimes used taxis, but the fares came out-of-pocket, while others split the bill between several.
The impact has even reached Fuji TV's production sites, with screenwriter Koki Mitani and talent Ryota Yamasato commenting about problems such as being refused location filming.
Fuji TV current and former female announcers and program guests have been victims of slander and false rumors that have been spread online, which they have denied. Fuji Television has also announced that it is considering legal actions.
On January 23, from 14:30, a press conference was held by Ryunosuke Endo, chairman of the Japan Commercial Broadcasting Federation (Fuji Television Vice Chairman), and afterwards (from around 2:50 pm), Fuji Television Vice Chairman As chairman, he held a press conference following the announcement of Masahiro Nakai's retirement from entertainment activities.
On the same day, from 5:30 pm, Fuji Television held an information session for employees remotely at the station's studio.
Fuji TV's female announcers have a long history, since before the Equal Employment Opportunity Law. The thought process was "The news is for men to read". The main announcers were male, with female announcers in the background, some even served tea for the main cast. Misuzu Tamaru [ja], who turned down a job offer from a trading company to join Fuji TV, was one of the pioneers of the change, working alongside main anchor Masataka Itsumi. Another one was Mitsuko Yorichika [ja], former NHK announcer before moving to Fuji. She was considered the original "talent female announcer", appearing in television magazines. Yorichika mainly worked on information programs, but became so popular, Shochiku Films cast her as a bar hostess.
With the role of the announcer changed, Fuji started getting outside announcers in news programs and variety shows, returning them to a "secondary" role, making them "easily replaceable". Starting with "Oretachi Hyokinzoku [ja]", female announcers were called "hyokin anna", with it starting the "celebrity announcer".
Whatever the role the female announcer has, their casting was based on their appearance. Interviewers would choose a girl who was cute, pretty, and looked good in a miniskirt. Many of the commercial network announcers are expected to be "Miss xx", representing a school like Keio. Also, their age is considered, as females around 30 are considered "window-sitters", expecting these females to choose fast whether to continue in her role, go freelance or get married, especially to a person with money (celebrity, athlete, entrepreneur, or an heir to a company). Many choose to become celebrities themselves.
At the January press conference, former President Minato said that he had taken the female announcer to a social gathering. It was a "natural progression" that female announcers who had become celebrities would dine with celebrities and athletes. Some dislike participating in the meetings, some are curious and think it's interesting, but female announcers do have common concerns.
On January 29, in NTV's program Day Day it was revealed that there was a meeting were Nakai, and the female would coincide. As informed in the program, Tsurube, Hiromi, Nakai, the executive and the female were supposed to play golf one day, but Tsurube sprained his back. So, they decided to continue with a barbeque at Nakai's house. Hiromi was in charge of the barbeque, so he barely saw the woman. It got cold, so Hiromi and Tsurube decided to leave later. A month later is when, supposedly, the incident between Nakai and the female happened.
On January 30, TBS program "Hiruobi" talked about the coverage of the press conference held on the 27. Mamoru Nishiyama [ja], Associate Professor of J. F. Oberlin University's School of Business Management, was a guest. Comments on the program concentrated on the two reporting sources that started all this, focusing on what was reported and what Fuji and the involved had said. Regarding the discrepancies between both sides, Nishiyama questioned the authenticity of the information. He further questioned the lack of a press conference to offer an apology by both media and the media held responsible of the consequences the "mistakes" brought to the table. And about the result of the investigating committee. If it is proven that the executive is involved, then Fuji would have to do something regarding that person, too.
On February 4, in the House of Representatives Budget Committee, Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Seiichiro Murakami stated that there is no reason to revoke Fuji TV's broadcasting license. According to Murakami "a license cannot be granted unless (the station) has sufficient funds to maintain broadcasting business." "After obtaining a license, the lack of funds is not stipulated as a reason for revocation under the Radio Law, and the license cannot be revoked." Fuji continues to lose sponsors.
On February 5, Yoshimoto Kogyo posted on their site about the self-restraint of affiliated talent, without naming them. Yoshimoto is the agency to which Hitoshi Matsumoto, Nakai's co-host on "Matsumo to Nakai" (later changed to "Dareka to Nakai"), belonged. The post says: "We are currently investigating the facts with outside lawyers and others as we have found that some talents belonging to our company are suspected of non-compliance."
On NTV's News Zero broadcast on March 31, 2025, Monday anchor Sho Sakurai commented on the result of the third-party investigations. As an entertainer himself, Sakurai said: "As someone who works in the entertainment industry, I would like to work with all the producers to make them aware of the voiceless voices, to prevent any damage from occurring".
Since the press conference on January 17, many sponsors, starting with Nippon Life and Toyota, have rapidly moved to suspend commercials on Fuji TV for the time being due to the scandal. These commercials have been replaced by AC Japan (excluding Takasu Clinic and Very Best Law Office, etc.), and according to FNN, the reason why the commercials were replaced by AC Japan is From January 18 to 20, there were over 350 commercials, and as of January 20, 75 commercial sponsors had withdrawn their ads from the station and its affiliates. By January 25, over 120 companies had announced an injunction.
The airing of AC Japan commercials is a common practice to fill in slots when there are no advertisers to air.
Due to the suspension and replacement of commercials, the following impacts have occurred:
Fuji TV's President Kenji Shimizu revealed that February's broadcast revenue decreased by about 90% compared to the previous year due to the continued movement to suspend commercials in response to the Nakai-Fuji TV scandal. He also said that he "did not know" what the outlook for April and beyond would be, because it was program reorganization period. According to Fuji TV, as of January, 311 companies and organizations had replaced their commercials with public service announcements. By February 25, only 72 companies were sponsoring Fuji TV.
One of the few who continue supporting Fuji is Katsuya Takasu of cosmetic surgery "Takasu Clinic". According to Takasu, "All the companies that have withdrawn their commercials from Fuji are non-owner companies. We don't discuss things internally like other companies. I make all my decisions based on what I like and dislike. To be honest, I have absolutely no interest in this recent Fuji TV commotion. I'm just a sponsor of Fuji's Sakagami Animal Kingdom [ja] because I like it. I'm not supporting the TV station, I'm supporting the show I like. That stance hasn't changed since the old days. I sponsored Matsu-chan (Matsumoto Hitoshi) because I liked him. There has been criticism, mainly on social media, about continuing to advertise on Fuji. But I don't care at all. "I'm giving money to a show that everyone enjoys, so why should I be criticized? It's my money, not the viewers', so there's no reason for the internet to say anything about it. To me, it's like volunteering. I think the people who withdrew from sponsorship are small-minded."
According to a programming executive at a major commercial broadcasting station, producing a television program costs at least 8 million yen in prime time, and close to 40 million yen at the most. Fuji's programs are across the board more expensive than those of other stations. Companies that continue to place commercials in this crisis are like a spider's web for Fuji. According to the employee of a major advertising agency, "Television stations don't make official announcements about sponsors' movements, so we don't know the exact figures, but now there are only a handful of companies that continue to place commercials on Fuji. Most of them are in the cosmetic surgery and mail order industries, and they are unlisted companies."
Fuji Network System (FNS) affiliate stations have also been affected, and there is a growing movement to replace commercials that appear on programs produced by Fuji TV. Kyushu Electric Power, Seibu Gas, and JR Kyushu announced on January 22 that they would take the aforementioned measures against FNS affiliate stations in the Kyushu region. In addition to replacing commercial slots, Kyushu Electric Power has announced that it will postpone new contracts for the time being. Furthermore, on January 23, Nishi-Nippon Railroad, Kyudenko, and Fukuoka Financial Group decided to take similar measures. As for Nishi-Nippon Railroad, they have also postponed their appearance in a program produced by Fuji Television. Shikoku Electric Power (Yonden) also announced January 21 that it would replace its advertising slots on FNS affiliate stations in Chugoku and Shikoku in the same way. York-Benimaru also replaced its arrangements with FNS affiliated stations in the Tohoku region in the same way. In Hokkaido, Hokkaido Electric Power Company, Yotsuba Milk, and Hokkaido Bank are making arrangements to suspend or replace commercials from Fuji TV programs broadcast by Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting (UHB). As mentioned above, Kansai Television has also suspended commercial placements, spreading the impact.
Even if FNS affiliate stations broadcast simultaneous or staggered sponsored network programs produced by their own companies or programs produced by other affiliates, the program sponsor may be a company that has stopped placing commercials on Fuji TV. However, the company's commercials will be aired as usual.
In addition, even sponsors of the same affiliated station may have different attitudes. Using Kansai TV as an example, when Osaka Gas and Kansai Electric Power withdrew their commercials, KEPCO only targeted programs produced by Fuji TV; Osaka Gas lifted all contracted commercials, including local programs produced by Kansai TV.
In response to a series of reports, each FNS station released a statement one after another. Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting apologized, saying, "As a member of the Fuji TV network, we deeply apologize for the great concern we have caused to our viewers, business partners, and many other people." In response to this incident, UHB conducted an internal investigation and reported, "We are interviewing employees in the announcement department, and there have been no problems at this time." TV Miyazaki on its behalf said, "We are conducting another survey of employees and staff, and we will work to thoroughly share information and strengthen our compliance system." TV Shizuoka said, "We are conducting an anonymous in-house survey of all employees. We will continue to work to further improve the environment." Kagoshima Television Station expressed their gratitude, saying, "Even under these circumstances, we have received words of encouragement from viewers and clients, and all of our employees are humbled." Television Nishinippon Corporation announced the comment during a program broadcast on January 22: "As a member of the Fuji TV network, we deeply apologize for causing a great deal of concern to our viewers, business partners, and many other people. We will strive to ensure highly transparent corporate management."
Kansai TV Labor Union, considering the serious situation, had begun to question the future of President Ota, Chairman Fukui Sumiro, and former director and advisor Hisashi Hieda (who still serves as an outside director at Kansai TV). The labor union has urged employees to vote to establish the right to strike, and after the reveal of the results of FujI TV's third-party investigations, have demanded Ota's resignation. One Kansai Television employee said in a hushed voice: "We are already inviting employees to vote to establish the right to strike, and the deadline is 6 p.m. on the 8th of this month (April). If the management doesn't quit by then, I think we're going to really go on strike. There is a lot of anger among employees against Mr. Ota and other management who do not quit even if they are held accountable by a third-party committee". Another employee testified: "The union is growing increasingly concerned that if we miss this opportunity, we won't be able to regain trust. If the board of directors was functioning properly, we wouldn't have to do this, but the reality is that there are no executives who can voice objections to Fukui's one-man rule." President Ota announced his resignation on April 4, 2025.
Other stations also announced "internal investigations" to determine whether there were any inappropriate activities involving celebrities or sponsors, but NHK Chairman Nobuo Inaba said on January 22 that there are no plans to investigate at this time. According to Inaba, "NHK has a well-established harassment-related reporting system, and we are aware that there are no similar cases." In 2018, former Tokio member Tatsuya Yamaguchi was found guilty (suspended sentence) of indecent behavior with a high school-aged girl he met on an NHK's E-TV program. The difference with the Fuji TV case is that NHK discovered and reported it. A weekly magazine reporter noted the similarities: "There was a suspicion of a cover-up on the part of NHK's program, and there were some reports that the victim protested to NHK, but NHK denied all of them. Yamaguchi learned the victim's contact information because the victim was told by the program staff to exchange contact information, but NHK did not hold a press conference or investigate through a third-party committee."
TV Asahi Program Council held a meeting on February 20, with a discussion on the theme of "What we should learn from Fuji TV's troubles". Some committee members expressed hope for change in the industry, saying, "A crisis is the greatest opportunity. I hope that this incident will lead to greater awareness and action to 'protect announcers and women,' and that people will say that 'the TV industry has become much safer and cleaner since then.'" In response to these opinions, Chairman Hayakawa Hiroshi offered his opinion, saying, "The unique feature of this incident is that the details of the case are confidential, so everyone is commenting blindly, and the seriousness of the trouble is not well understood. Many things escalated because Nakai was not asked about the situation. I realized that the most important thing was to understand the details of what had happened". President Shinozuka Hiroshi said, "We established a human rights policy in February last year and are promoting human rights due diligence, but I realized once again that even if we put a system in place, it is important to put soul into it. We will create a workplace where everyone can work with peace of mind. We need to think carefully so that we do not allow distrust of the media to increase any further."
On January 30, 2025, FMH announced that it will revise its full-year earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2025 downward. Fuji TV's new president, Kenji Shimizu said net sales are expected to decrease by 50.1 billion yen, from 598.3 billion yen to 548.2 billion yen, and net profit by 66.2%, from 29.0 billion yen to 9.8 billion yen. Fuji Television's total broadcasting revenue is expected to decline by 23.3 billion yen. Fuji's 28 affiliates are expected to lose 1.3 billion to 1.4 billion yen, with additional losses of 200 million to 300 million yen (approx. $1.29 million to $1.93 million) expected. There is no guarantee that commercials will resume after the committee results are presented in March. According to attorney Masaki Kito, there is a possibility that Nakai were to be sued for compensation. But "depending on the nature of the act, the amount of (damages) will vary." There is also the consideration of all the parties. Nakai's involvement with the female, Fuji TV's participation, and Bunshun's "corrected mistake". Kito stated "depends on the conclusion of the third-party committee, but it could be several billion yen to 10 billion yen in some cases.
According to lawyer Ryosuke Nishiwaki, former TV Asahi legal department head, a "shareholder derivative lawsuit" could follow, if the economic situation continues. In it, shareholders (with minimum 1 share and half a year of holding them) sue company officers on behalf of the company (if it does not act within 60 days), when they cause damage to the company. Officers are forced to cover the damages. If the shareholder's claim is accepted in court, the officer compensates the company for the damage "out of his own pocket". It is not known how many "defendants" could be in the case of Fuji TV/FMH, there were 15 directors including Minato and Kano, who had already resigned. Compensation could be several billion yen divided per capita, and it is likely that directors' personal assets will not cover the bill. With regard to this issue, there is a suspicion of a major 'breach of duty' among the executives at the center of Fuji Television's management. The Companies Act requires directors to "immediately" report to the officer in charge of auditing when they "discover that there is a fact that may cause significant damage to the company." However, the outside director, member of the Audit and Supervisory Committee, and the person in charge of compliance were not informed, until the weekly magazine interview. The third-party committee report could be used as evidence in a lawsuit. Depending on the contents, it may be conceivable that the company, under pressure from shareholders, would not wait for a shareholder derivative lawsuit, suing executives on its own.
Artists with a long history with Fuji TV have been mentioned to feel endebted to the station. Personalities such as Sanma Akashiya, who mentioned Fuji's situation on his radio program, Tamori, and comedy team Tunnels, are among the artists that could come together to "help out" the station.
After learning on January 29 of his participation in the "Nakai barbeque", on the 30 Tsurube was cut from his Sushiro commercial. He was also affected regarding the program BS11 "Mugaku Tsuru no Ma" scheduled to air on February 4, which was taken off the broadcast schedule. Tsurube has been hosting the program for over 20 years at the Osaka comedy hall "Mugaku". On February 6, Sushiro posted on their official site regarding the removal of Tsurube's ads. In the post, after apologizing for the inconvenience caused, they mention that they had taken the decision to remove the ads after learning about his participation (in the barbeque), because the situation was unclear. Internal communications started between the company and Tsurube's agency, and, after that, decided to resume airing the commercial ads.
On February 4 it was announced that the committee had started their investigations. It began investigating the employees of Fuji Media Holdings and Fuji Television, to find if other cases such as Nakai's had happened. A second inquiry is to start with an investigation on the company's corporate culture. Officials question the need to expand investigations to other areas, such as production companies and other contractors.
On February 7, Kinliser [ja] announced via X (formerly Twitter) that it would resume with commercial ads in Fuji TV programming. The company stated that there had been talks with people involved, and that they are considering the changes taken by the broadcaster, although there are still controversial points, and are aware that new facts may arise with the results given by the third-party committee. They also posted that they hope that resuming the ads will be an encouragement for the broadcaster's employees to work hard and have faith in the future. They will continue monitoring Fuji TV's activities.
On February 10, Fuji Media Holdings revealed that it had set up a "hotline exclusively for the third-party committee for external parties" to solicit information regarding whether there had been any similar cases between that day and February 24. This will solicit information from former employees of Fuji Media Holdings and Fuji TV, as well as so-called external parties who had dealings with both companies, regarding harassment incidents that occurred when Fuji Television executives and employees attended meetings hosted by the company from April 2016.
On March 28, Fuji posted that they had received the results to the third-party investigations, contained in a 394-page document. According to it, Fuji TV, through the "Reconstruction and Reform Project" and the "Recurrence Prevention and Culture Reform Working Group", established directly under it, have formulated a plan for the reconstruction and reform of Fuji Television. They will make revisions to the reconstruction and reform plan in accordance with the contents of the investigation report. According to the review made by the company, their risk management was seriously lacking, allowing for incidents such as Nakai's to happen. In order to promote the revitalization and reform of Fuji Television, in addition to the hard aspects such as reviewing various regulations, rules, and organizations, "it is also necessary to promote the transformation of organizational and corporate culture. As a broadcasting company entrusted with the public airwaves, we must carefully grasp social changes and values, and continue to have a healthy social sense, a sense of responsibility, and a strong awareness of human rights."
Third-party committee head, Akira Takeuchi, compared the Fuji case with that from Johnny & Associates, which Fuji TV's news department (FNN) reported on. Takeuchi said, "Fuji Television's news bureau is also part of the Fuji Television organization, and since Fuji Television has lost trust, I think there is a problem as to whether stakeholders will trust what the news department investigates (themselves)". About "The Sexual Assault Problem at the Former Johnny's Office and the Silence of the Media", the FNN-produced program, Takeuchi pointed out that the report was only a self-examination and Fuji did not conduct a sufficient and objective verification or investigation, so they could not learn from it," and added, "I believe that it would not have been enough for Fuji TV's news bureau to examine this issue alone".
On April 1, the Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association (JBA) received the report from Fuji TV. As a response, the JBA issued a written severe warning to Fuji TV on April 2. JBS's President (and former Vice-President of Fuji TV) Ryunosuke Endo, resigned on April 2nd. Until the next president is decided, Managing Director Takuya Horiki will act as president.
The former Fuji TV announcer victim of the incident said on April 1 through her attorney "The damage I suffered will never go away, and what I have lost will never come back. I honestly feel relieved that my views were expressed in the investigation report. There are many facts I learned for the first time from the report, and I feel frustrated all over again." She added, "I sincerely hope that this kind of thing will disappear from society as a whole".
According to the report of the third-party investigation result by Josei Jishin, it is possible that Nakai did not know that the cancellation of the program was because of him, but because of Matsumoto, as he was told this. President Minato and Director Ota had already received the report of the assault by the female, but had considered to continue with the program by August 2023, because the sudden cancellation would cause speculation and could hurt the female. When she left, that is when the decision to end the program with the April 2025 reorganization was taken. Nakai was informed of the decision by the programming executive with whom he was close, and Nakai asked him if it was because of him. The executive told him it was a comprehensive programming decision. Nakai was already aware of Bunshun's investigation.
Programs sponsored by one company, including BS Fuji, a BS digital broadcasting station affiliated with Fuji Television, have also been affected. As a result of these influences, Live News & Weather was organized as an alternative program from January 28, and the ironic result was that Spot News, which was abolished at the end of March 2018, was revived for the first time in nearly 7 years. The status of programs provided by one company is described below.
Mainichi Shimbun conducted a public opinion poll on the recent series of problems at Fuji TV from February 15 to 16. Regarding the fact that a succession of companies have stopped airing commercials on Fuji TV in response to the problem, 58% of respondents said they "thought it was appropriate," far exceeding the 16% who said they "didn't think it was appropriate." 25% also said they "couldn't say either way." When asked to give multiple answers to what they thought Fuji TV should do to regain trust, the most common answer at 52% was "refreshing the management team." This was followed by "establishing measures to prevent recurrence" (48%), "clarifying suspicions involving Fuji TV employees" (45%), and "clarifying the reality of entertainment provided by female announcers and employees" (42%), all of which were answered by more than 40% of respondents. 20% of respondents chose all four of these, indicating that Fuji TV needs to make thorough efforts to regain trust. Regarding the poll's results, on February 25, Mangaka Mayumi Kurata suggested, "If Fuji Television can't get sponsors, it should immediately bring to light what other media outlets won't or can't report on. As media personnel, I hope that people in the field will treat this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and report on it with the spirit of making their mark on the history of major media. I hope they will pull off a "broadcasting accident" that will go down in history".
After the news came out, women started posting their own examples of power and sexual harassment in what is being called the Japanese version of #MeToo and the Weinstein effect, under the hashtag #私が退職した本当の理由 (Watashi ga taishoku shita hontō no riyū, That's the real reason I quit my job!). On February 8, after days of the first posts, the number was too large to keep up. Women's true feelings and humiliation, written usually as "due to personal reasons" in resignation letters, were shared. Most of the posts were about bosses harassing the women during business trips, or as newly joined employees after graduation. And it wasn't limited to harassment by male bosses. Female bosses also harassed them, or "looked to the other side" when the male was reported. Those that had made a report were fired or moved to another section or office. The response to the post was surprising, but it also had a negative impact, with many men calling out the women for posting.