Japan: TV star Masahiro Nakai retires amid sex scandal
2025-01-23
Category: news

Japanese TV host Masahiro Nakai, one of the country's most recognisable faces on television, has announced that he is retiring after a sexual assault allegation that has rocked the country's entertainment industry.Nakai, who presented for Fuji Television, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a 2023 dinner party held by staff.Dozens of companies have pulled their commercials from Fuji Television amid claims that the company's staff had tried to cover up the scandal.Nakai has denied using violence against the woman, and said on 9 January that he had "resolved" the matter with her through a settlement. But this did little to quell public anger. 
In a social media statement posted on Thursday, Nakai said that he was "truly sorry for causing trouble and losses to so many people". "I'm really, really sorry for saying good-bye this way."His resignation comes days after Fuji Television president Koichi Minato confirmed that the company did not disclose Nakai's scandal despite being aware of it long before it was reported in the media.Vehicle makers Nissan and Toyota, as well as retail company Seven & I holdings which runs the retail 7-eleven convenience store chain, were among those that announced they were pulling advertising from Fuji Television over the scandal.Fuji Television is expected to set up an independent committee to investigate the scandal.Appearances of Nakai have also been scrubbed from programmes.Nakai soared to stardom in the 1990s as the leader of Japanese boy band SMAP, one of Asia's most successful acts. The group released more than 50 singles - many of which became chart toppers  - and launched a weekly variety show on prime-time television.
After SMAP disbanded in 2016, Nakai went on to become a television host as well as one of the wealthiest celebrities in Japan.Japan's entertainment industry is facing a reckoning with long unspoken cases of sexual assault.In 2023, J-pop executive Johnny Kitagawa, who by then had been dead for four years, was exposed to have sexually abused hundreds of boys and young men for decades.His talent agency, Johnny & Associates, had managed SMAP among other boy bands.