Ex-SMAP Leader Masahiro Nakai Allegedly Had Issue with Woman; Major Shareholder Demands Fuji Media Investigate Scandal

The Japan News

14:00 JST, January 15, 2025

One of the largest shareholders of Fuji Media Holdings is demanding that the network establish a third-party committee to examine the “uproar” created by Masahiro Nakai, the former leader of disbanded male pop group SMAP.

The shareholder, Rising Sun Management, which is an affiliate of U.S. investment management firm Dalton Investments, stated in a letter that the situation is “not only a problem in the entertainment industry generally, but, specifically, it exposes serious flaws” in Fuji Media’s corporate governance.

It has been reported that Nakai had an issue with a woman and is said to have paid her compensation.

Nakai was the host of a Fuji TV program, but the network announced that the program would be “suspended for the time being,” following the scandal.

The letter also stated, “The lack of consistency and, importantly, transparency in both reporting the facts and the subsequent unforgiveable shortcomings in your response merit serious condemnation that serves not only to undermine viewer trust, but also leads directly to erode shareholder value.”

In the letter, Rising Sun Management demands that Fuji Media “establish immediately a third-party committee of outside experts to examine and clarify the facts and then present them with remedial measures.”