Fuji TV President Resigns: Company Bears Heavy Responsibility for Inviting Distrust toward Media

Editorial

15:23 JST, January 28, 2025

The resignation of senior management was a matter of course, but it is necessary to fundamentally change the corporate culture that led to this scandal.

Fuji Television Network, Inc. held its second press conference on Jan. 27 over a problem involving former TV personality Masahiro Nakai and a woman. Admitting that Fuji TV had handled the crisis poorly, Chairman Shuji Kano and President Koichi Minato resigned to take responsibility for the severe criticism Fuji TV has received from society.

After learning of the problem, Minato and other executives did not actively investigate the matter, based on the woman’s desire “not to make it public,” and they also did not thoroughly confirm facts with Nakai.

In addition, Fuji TV limited the attendees at the first press conference on Jan. 17 and did not allow the conference to be filmed. It also hardly responded to any questions, citing the woman’s privacy.

Minato apologized for these responses, saying: “Our company, which has been pursuing allegations with cameras pointing at them, cannot escape criticism that we ran away from the cameras. We have undermined the credibility of the media.” It must be said that Fuji TV lacked awareness of the fact that it is a news organization.

About 80 sponsor companies have suspended their ads with Fuji TV. Although the company earned nearly ¥150 billion from airing ads in the fiscal year ending March 2024, its earnings could deteriorate in the future, shaking its business foundation.

People who produce programs have a strong tendency to try to curry favor with TV personalities who can secure high viewing rates. There are suspicions behind the scandal that personalities were entertained to an excessive degree.

These doubts have spurred distrust among viewers and caused sponsors to move away from airing ads. The impact on other TV stations and regional TV stations is significant as well.

Kenji Shimizu, executive vice president of Fuji Media Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Fuji TV, has taken over as the new Fuji TV president. The company said a third-party committee will investigate the facts and other elements of the problem from now on.

The main focus is whether a Fuji TV employee was involved in the problem. Fuji TV issued a comment denying the employee’s involvement immediately after weekly magazines reported the scandal, and repeated similar explanations at the press conference on Jan. 27 as well.

However, the Fuji TV employee reportedly invited the woman to a dinner party at Nakai’s home and participated in the party before the issue occurred. Is the problem not an extension of this? A thorough investigation is needed.

As times have changed, people have turned a harsh eye toward sexual harassment and comedy that goes too far and may harm people. Personalities and TV station staff are also required to be careful about their behavior.

An indirect cause of the scandal seems to be that the company has overlooked these changes in society.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 28, 2025)