"EDITORIAL: Scandal expands beyond Nakai, signals corporate culture of sleaze," 26 January 2024

Fuji Television Network Inc. and its parent company have established a third-party panel based on guidelines of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations to investigate former entertainer Masahiro Nakai’s alleged sexual misconduct toward a woman.

...The articles said a senior Fuji TV employee also played a role.

...Seventy-five sponsors pulled their commercials from Fuji TV three days later.

...The focus of the scandal, however, has already outgrown Nakai’s specific case and is spreading to the broader topic of Fuji TV’s corporate culture...

In an impromptu interview, Fuji TV Vice Chairman Ryunosuke Endo said he believes it has become less common these days to “take” female workers, including newscasters, to venues for wining and dining business clients, such as officials of showbiz agencies.

He explained that going to such venues helps those women obtain job opportunities because “it is up to various people to decide which newscasters should appear in programs.”

Scandals and suspicions over unwanted acts and sexual assaults in showbiz and media circles have spread against the background of power dynamics and other circumstances.

Industry officials should now heighten their sensitivity to human rights, reflect on any evil practices and eliminate the problems so the next generation can work in those circles with hopes.

...

The way the sponsors pulled their advertisements was so powerful that such action could be used to affect and control a TV station’s reporting stance.

The sponsors should explain why they pulled their commercials from Fuji TV and give their stances on human rights...