TOKYO (AFP) – Major network Fuji Television said yesterday it was probing allegations involving one of Japan’s biggest celebrities after an activist investor said it was “outraged” by the lack of transparency.
TV host and former J-pop star Masahiro Nakai, 52, a household name, reportedly paid a woman JPY90 million yen (USD570,000) after she alleged sexual misconduct.
Fuji previously denied tabloid reports suggesting one of its employees had arranged the meal where Nakai, a member of the 1990s boy band sensation SMAP, met the woman in 2023.
United States (US) fund Dalton Investments’ affiliate Rising Sun Management, a shareholder in the station’s parent company, called on Fuji to establish a committee of outside experts to “clarify the facts” and present “remedial measures”.
“The lack of consistency and, importantly, transparency in both reporting the facts and the subsequent unforgivable shortcomings in your response merit serious condemnation that serves not only to undermine viewer trust, but also leads directly to erode shareholder value,” Rising Sun said in its statement.
“As one of your largest shareholders, controlling over seven percent of the company’s stock, we are outraged!”
Following Rising Sun’s statement, Fuji said it has been reviewing “the facts” with outside lawyers since last year. “We will take appropriate action based on the result of the examination,” Fuji Television said in a statement, read to AFP yesterday.
