Photo/Illutration Koichi Minato, president of Fuji Television Network Inc., second from left, at a news conference in Tokyo on Jan. 17 (Bunna Takizawa)

Koichi Minato, president of Fuji Television Network Inc., apologized over a sex scandal involving TV personality Masahiro Nakai on Jan. 17, saying a third-party panel will investigate the matter.

“I apologize for the great concern caused to viewers and other concerned parties, and for the fact that the company has not been able to provide an explanation until now,” Minato said at a news conference in Tokyo.

On Jan. 14, a U.S. activist shareholder sent a letter to Fuji Media Holdings Inc., parent company of Fuji Television, calling for an independent investigation into the scandal.

Minato said the company will set up an investigation committee led by a third-party lawyer.

He added that he himself would be subject to the third-party investigation.

On Dec. 26, 2024, weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun published a report that said a planned dinner for Fuji Television Network employees was attended by just Nakai and a woman at the last minute.

A sexual incident occurred between the two, and Nakai later agreed to pay the woman a settlement.

Minato said the company was immediately aware of the incident in early June 2023.

According to Minato, an employee of Fuji Television noticed a change in the condition of the woman after she was with Nakai.

The employee spoke with the woman and recognized that it “is a sensitive issue,” Minato said.

“We felt that the first priority was to assess the woman’s physical condition, so we asked her to see a physician for a diagnosis,” he said. “The physician promptly consulted another specialist after the diagnosis. Thereafter, we proceeded under the guidance of that specialist.”

He said the company respected the woman’s wish to return to work without making the matter public.

“The company considered the case to be highly confidential,” Minato said.

As for Nakai, Minato said that the company had talked with the celebrity, but the Fuji Television president did not mention any details at the news conference.

Nakai on Jan. 9 released a statement of apology on his management office’s website, admitting that “it is true that there was trouble.”

However, he said some of the reports about the incident were untrue and emphasized that “there is no involvement of anyone other than the parties involved.”

Since the scandal broke, TV broadcasters have cut scenes of Nakai from their programs.

Minato said Fuji Television did not tell its sponsors about the incident until it was reported in weekly magazines.

“We are in the process of explaining the situation to them now,” he said.

On Dec. 27, 2024, the company released a statement that said a company employee, whose involvement in the incident was indicated in the weekly magazines’ reports, “was not involved in any way, including setting up the meeting.”

The employee “was not aware of the existence of the meeting, nor was (the employee) suddenly absent on the day of the meeting,” the statement said.

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