End of game. The very popular Japanese TV presenter Masahiro Nakai announced this Thursday, January 23, the end of his career even though he had been accused for several weeks of sexual misconduct. “I have ended all discussions with television channels, radio stations and sponsors regarding my departure, (…) my revocation and the cancellation of my contract,” said the star in a statement addressed to his paid fan club, according to the daily Mainichi.
“I will continue to face all problems sincerely and respond to them wholeheartedly. I am the only one responsible for the situation,” the former Fuji TV presenter would have added. The 52-year-old man was revealed in the 1990s as a member of the boy band SMAP, which had enjoyed great success in Japanese countries.
Japanese media revealed in December that the former idol had paid a woman 90 million yen (around 550,000 euros) to resolve what they cautiously described as a “sexual problem”. A local tabloid even mentioned a “sexual act against the will” of the victim, without this being corroborated by legal proceedings or a complaint. Under pressure from an outraged shareholder, the Fuji TV channel on which he was then working announced that it was going to open an internal investigation.
-While several of Masahiro Nakai's shows have been suspended since the publication of these allegations, many major brands, including McDonald's and Toyota, announced on Monday that they were withdrawing their advertisements from the Japanese television channel Fuji TV.
The scandal comes after the boy band empire Johnny – Associates, of which SMAP was long the headliner, admitted in September that its late founder had for decades committed sexual violence against young recruits. Fuji Media's stock fell by more than 10% this Thursday late morning on the Tokyo Stock Exchange after the publication of Masahiro Nakai's announcement.
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