Fuji Media feels scandal heat
January 23, 2025

Japan’s Fuji Media Holdings has held an emergency board meeting after 80 advertisers, including the likes of Toyota, McDonald’s, 7-Eleven and SoftBank, said they would pull adverts from its TV channel.
The company is accused of failing to respond adequately to a sex scandal involving Masahiro Nakai, a 52-year-old former star in the boyband SMAP, who dominated Japan’s celebrity-rich primetime schedule.
Nakai has been a major presence on Fuji TV schedules for almost three decades, and the company’s initial muted reaction to the allegations outraged a group of activist shareholders representing funds under hedge fund Dalton Investments, which holds more than 7 per cent of its shares, reports the FT. The group sent a letter to its board demanding greater transparency.