{"id":223147,"date":"2025-01-24T15:00:10","date_gmt":"2025-01-24T15:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/24\/metoo-outrage-leaves-japanese-broadcaster-without-a-single-advertiser\/"},"modified":"2025-01-24T15:00:10","modified_gmt":"2025-01-24T15:00:10","slug":"metoo-outrage-leaves-japanese-broadcaster-without-a-single-advertiser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/24\/metoo-outrage-leaves-japanese-broadcaster-without-a-single-advertiser\/","title":{"rendered":"MeToo Outrage Leaves Japanese Broadcaster Without a Single Advertiser"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/01\/24\/multimedia\/24Japan-MeToo-01-wqgc\/24Japan-MeToo-01-wqgc-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"MeToo Outrage Leaves Japanese Broadcaster Without a Single Advertiser\" title=\"MeToo Outrage Leaves Japanese Broadcaster Without a Single Advertiser\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It began as a scoop in a weekly tabloid: the allegation that a middle-aged former boy-band star turned top television host had paid hush money to a woman for unspecified wrongdoing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Other articles followed, asserting that it was a case of sexual assault, and stirring a wave of public outrage not only toward the ex-singer but also his employer, a major TV broadcaster, for how it handled the situation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Thursday, the man at the center of the controversy announced his retirement, but the episode had already turned into a moment of reckoning. An international investor has criticized the company, Tokyo-based Fuji Television, and Japan\u2019s biggest corporate advertisers have lined up to boycott it. Some 75 companies, including Toyota, SoftBank and the local operator of McDonald\u2019s, have pulled ads and sponsorships.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Not a single commercial now appears on the station\u2019s programming; ad spots are now filled with unpaid public service announcements. Tens of millions of dollars in revenue is at stake as indignant C.E.O.s have called on Fuji TV to address the issue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe will cease placing advertisements with the company until a thorough investigation is conducted, the facts are clarified, and appropriate action is taken,\u201d Takeshi Minakata, president of the drink maker Kirin, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/info.kirinholdings.com\/faq_detail.html?id=122788\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">said in a statement<\/a>, which added that the company was acting \u201cbased on our human rights policy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Experts say the anger reveals a new intolerance for sexual misconduct set in motion by an <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/09\/07\/business\/japan-boyband-sexual-abuse.html\" title=\"\">earlier scandal<\/a>. Two years ago, it emerged that the founder of a top talent agency had sexually abused young men for decades. He died in 2019 without ever facing any charges, and corporate sponsors were accused of having ignored the wrongdoing at the agency, Johnny &amp; Associates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">This time, big corporations are eager to show that things have changed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe Johnny scandal marked a turning point,\u201d said Ryu Honma, who has written extensively about the advertising and media industries. \u201cThe sponsors were blamed for complicity due to their inaction.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The current case came to light in mid-December, when a weekly tabloid called Josei Seven reported that Masahiro Nakai, of the disbanded but still immensely popular group SMAP, had become embroiled in \u201cserious trouble\u201d with a woman.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The article said that Mr. Nakai, 52, had paid 90 million yen, or almost $600,000, to the woman, who has not been publicly identified. Subsequent stories by other local media more clearly characterized what happened as a sexual assault.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Earlier this month, Mr. Nakai admitted that an \u201cincident\u201d had taken place and that he had paid to settle it. He said that he had used no violence in the encounter, which took place in June 2023, and that he therefore felt justified in his decision to continue to appear on TV. There have been no official investigations into the case.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Unrelenting criticism and the ad boycott forced him to reverse that decision. On Thursday, Mr. Nakai announced that he was retiring from entertainment and dissolving his talent agency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI don\u2019t think that this fulfills all my responsibilities,\u201d <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nonbirinakai.co.jp\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/%E3%81%94%E5%A0%B1%E5%91%8A.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">he said in a statement<\/a>, promising to \u201csincerely cooperate\u201d in any investigation. \u201cI apologize once again from my heart to the other party.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Anger has also grown at Fuji TV, where Mr. Nakai was a popular show host. According to the tabloid article, it was a Fuji TV employee who set up the meeting in 2023 between Mr. Nakai and the woman in the case.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Fuji TV initially issued a vague denial of \u201creports in some weekly magazines.\u201d But it later said it was creating an in-house committee to investigate the allegation involving Mr. Nakai, as well as other news media reports that it had long rewarded male talent by arranging encounters with female announcers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Fuji TV has come under criticism for being slow to confront the situation more directly, and also for how it eventually did so: at a news conference open only to select media, at which no livestreaming or cameras were allowed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At the news conference, held last week, Fuji TV\u2019s president said his company had learned about the episode right after it happened but did not disclose it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cOur decision at the time was not to make the matter public, but to respect the woman\u2019s wish to return to work and to prioritize her physical and mental recovery and the protection of her privacy,\u201d said the president, Koichi Minato.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The news conference also came after an American shareholder, an investment company called Dalton Investments, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.daltoninvestments.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/FMH-Special-Independent-Committee-English-PffD-version.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">sent a letter to Fuji TV\u2019s management<\/a> harshly criticizing the company\u2019s failure to react to \u2014 much less fix \u2014 its problems.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The situation with Mr. Nakai \u201creflects not only a problem in the entertainment industry generally, but, specifically, it exposes serious flaws in your corporate governance,\u201d the letter said. \u201cThe lack of consistency and, importantly, transparency in both reporting the facts and the subsequent unforgivable shortcomings in your response merit serious condemnation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The day after Fuji TV\u2019s news conference, big Japanese companies began announcing that they were pulling their ads.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Thursday, Fuji TV\u2019s parent company, Fuji Media Holdings, weighed in. The president, Osamu Kanemitsu, said that it was \u201cimperative that we regain the trust of our employees, sponsors and viewers.\u201d He announced that the company\u2019s board had decided in an emergency meeting to establish an independent committee to examine Fuji TV\u2019s response.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt took time for the realization to spread that they cannot look the other way,\u201d said Mr. Honma, the advertising and media critic. \u201cWhen big customers start to leave, it brings action.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/24\/world\/asia\/japan-me-too-sex-scandal.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It began as a scoop in a weekly tabloid: the allegation that a middle-aged former boy-band star turned top television host had paid hush money to a woman for unspecified wrongdoing. Other articles followed, asserting that it was a case of sexual assault, and stirring a wave of public outrage not only toward the ex-singer [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/01\/24\/multimedia\/24Japan-MeToo-01-wqgc\/24Japan-MeToo-01-wqgc-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[175451,169206,24590,17973,175449,92,121,5872,175448,22807,175447,11947,1083,175450,23481],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223147"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223147"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":223149,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223147\/revisions\/223149"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}