In a seismic shift for Japanese media and society, Fuji Television's empire began crumbling in late 2024 when sexual assault allegations against former SMAP star Nakai Masahiro exposed decades of corporate cover-ups and abuse of power.
The scandal erupted after reports emerged that Nakai had allegedly engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with a woman in her twenties during a private dinner arranged by a Fuji TV executive in June 2023. The victim was later hospitalized for PTSD and received a ¥90 million settlement.
But what transformed this into a watershed moment wasn't just the assault allegations - it was Fuji TV's systematic attempts to suppress the story and protect Nakai, their golden boy who had helped build the network's dominance through SMAP's unprecedented success.
As Japan's most iconic boy band, SMAP wasn't merely about music - they were a cultural phenomenon manufactured by Fuji TV through relentless media saturation across television, advertising and entertainment. Their variety show "SMAPxSMAP" ran for 20 years and became a national institution, with Nakai as its sharp-tongued MC.
The scandal forced a rare glimpse behind the curtain of Japan's entertainment industry. When Shūkan Bunshun magazine exposed both the assault allegations and cover-up attempts in December 2024, the public reaction was swift. Advertisers pulled funding, anonymous employee letters leaked to the press, and viewers who once adored Nakai turned against him.
Fuji TV's attempts at damage control through tightly controlled press conferences backfired spectacularly, revealing a company still operating with an outdated mentality of suppression over transparency. The final blow came with the ousting of Chairman Emeritus Hieda Hisashi, who had run Fuji TV like a personal fiefdom for decades.
This scandal represents more than just another #MeToo moment - it marks a profound shift in how Japanese society confronts issues of power, sexual violence and institutional corruption. The public's refusal to accept hollow apologies and cosmetic reforms signals a deeper demand for structural change.
For a nation that has long buried uncomfortable truths behind a facade of harmony, the Fuji TV scandal has become a catalyst for confronting systemic problems that were previously met with silence. As one of Japan's most powerful media institutions faces a reckoning with its past, the reverberations are likely to be felt across Japanese society for years to come.