Corporate sponsors said the resignations of two executives at Fuji Television Network Inc. will not lead to an early resumption of their advertising with the broadcaster.

“The reason we stopped airing commercials on Fuji TV is because we judged there was a discrepancy with our human rights policy,” a representative of a food company said. “Even if the president resigns, it is unlikely that we will resume commercials immediately.”

Fuji Television Chairman Shuji Kano and President Koichi Minato announced their resignations over “trouble” between former entertainer Masahiro Nakai and a woman at a dinner party in June 2023.

Kenji Shimizu was appointed the new president.

Earlier, Fuji Television announced the establishment of a third-party committee to investigate the scandal, saying the results will be finalized at the end of March.

The food company representative said the results of the investigation will be a factor in deciding whether or not to resume commercials on Fuji Television.

The news conference, which was attended by more than 400 reporters, freelance writers and YouTubers, started at around 4 p.m. and continued until around 2:30 a.m. the next day.

But a number of questions were left unanswered, including what exactly occurred between Nakai and the woman.

“As long as the facts are not known, the situation will not change even if the president resigns. It may take time to restore the relationship of trust,” a representative of a manufacturing company said.

According to Fuji Television, 75 companies had suspended their advertisements as of Jan. 20.

Sponsors started putting pressure on Fuji Television to make changes after the broadcaster’s first news conference on the matter on Jan. 17 was widely criticized as closed and ambiguous.

However, the second news conference and the resignations have not won over the sponsors.

STOCK RISES ON EXPECTATIONS OF CHANGE

Despite the network’s problems, the stock price of Fuji Television’s parent company, Fuji Media Holdings Inc., has been rising.

The stock price, which closed at 1,690 yen on Jan. 17, finished trading on Jan. 27 at 1,975 yen.

The scandal is expected to press Fuji Media Holdings to improve efficiency in its management.

“This is an indication that expectations for change are outweighing concerns about performance due to the suspension of TV commercials and other factors,” an analyst familiar with the media industry said.

The analyst said people “are looking at whether the company can draw a medium- to long-term growth story.”

Fuji Media Holdings’ assets are plentiful, and its business is unlikely to tilt anytime soon, the analyst said.

“If (the company) can gain a certain level of understanding, sales may recover from April onward. The speed with which trust is restored is important,” the analyst said.

Others were more pessimistic about Fuji Television’s future.

“In a structure where earnings from the advertising revenue model of terrestrial TV are tapering off, this issue may accelerate the trend,” Kazuhiro Sasaki, head of research at Phillip Securities Japan Ltd., said.

‘KEY PERSON’ ABSENT

Hisashi Hieda, Fuji Television’s “key person,” did not attend the Jan. 27 news conference.

Hieda, 87, is an adviser at Fuji Television who has served as president and chairman of the broadcaster. He has remained in management for 41 years and continues to wield influence mainly in personnel matters, sources said.

Reporters kept asking the Fuji Television officials, “Why isn’t Hieda here?”

Questions about Hieda’s responsibility and his future were asked several times during the news conference, but no in-depth answers were given by the five executives.

Chairman Kano said: “Hieda had nothing to do with this matter. There is no need for him to appear at the news conference.”

One reporter commented: “You are all errand boys. If Hieda doesn't come out, (the situation) will never be resolved."

Another reporter told the executives, “You seem too afraid of Hieda.”

Outside the news conference, a senior official of Fuji Television told The Asahi Shimbun that when a company executive submitted a letter of resignation, Hieda fired back, “Are you quitting without a fight?”

“What on earth can we fight for?” the official said. “No one can ask (Hieda) to resign because we are afraid.”

(This article was compiled from reports written by Naoko Murai, Satoshi Shinden, Bunna Takizawa, Masato Nishida, 
senior staff writer Yohei Goto, and others.)