Kansai TV President Resigns over Sexual Violence Scandal at Fuji TV; Mishandling of Incident Criticized in Report

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:16 JST, April 5, 2025

OSAKA — Kansai Television Co. President Toru Ota left his post at the TV broadcaster on Friday in connection with the case of sexual violence by former TV personality Masahiro Nakai against a female former Fuji Television Network, Inc. announcer, Ota told reporters in Osaka that day. Ota was serving as managing director of Fuji TV at the time of the incident.

“I want to apologize for being unable to empathize with the woman’s feelings and causing her anguish,” 66-year-old Ota said. Kansai TV Chairman Sumio Fukui, 77, will also serve as president until June.

Ota became aware of the incident in August 2023, according to the investigative report by the third-party committee set up by Fuji TV and its parent company Fuji Media Holdings, Inc. However, he and then Fuji TV President Koichi Minato concluded at the time that it was a “private matter between a man and a woman” and continued to have Nakai appear on Fuji TV’s programs.

The report criticized the company for its “lack of understanding of sexual violence and its poor human rights awareness,” adding that the mistaken perception was “a major factor in the mishandling of the situation.”

Ota said, “In light of the report’s findings, I thought it would be inappropriate to continue as president.”

Ota joined Fuji TV in 1981. He served as a producer for popular dramas such as Tokyo Love Story and became president of Kansai TV in June last year.