Fuji Media Holdings’ Shareholders Meeting: New Management Approved, But Much Work Remains To Be Done

Editorial

15:05 JST, June 26, 2025

Fuji Media Holdings Inc., which has been rocked by the sexual assault scandal involving former TV personality Masahiro Nakai, has received shareholder approval for its new management structure.

The road to restoring trust in the company remains steep. The company needs to take thorough measures to prevent a recurrence of a similar incident and work to urgently improve its corporate value.

Fuji Media Holdings, the parent company of Fuji Television Network Inc., held its annual general shareholders meeting, where all 11 candidates proposed by the company for the board of directors were approved by a majority vote.

On the other hand, all 12 candidates proposed by U.S.-based Dalton Investments, which is an activist shareholder of the holdings company that strongly seeks reforms, were rejected. The candidates included Yoshitaka Kitao, chairman and president of SBI Holdings Inc.

Kenji Shimizu, who became president of Fuji TV in late January this year, has been working to reform corporate governance. Shimizu made all the other directors — including Executive Managing Advisor Hisashi Hieda, who had been involved in the management of Fuji Media Holdings for many years — resign from their posts.

The directors were probably chosen in line with Fuji Media Holdings’ preferences because the reforms received positive feedback to a certain extent. Shimizu was also named the president of Fuji Media Holdings following the shareholders meeting.

TV stations, which are allocated certain frequencies by the central government, are required to be highly public in nature. The Broadcasting Law stipulates that they should contribute to the development of sound democracy, and they also play a significant role as news organizations.

In addition, to prevent undue influence from foreign countries, shares held by foreign investors must be less than 20% in terms of voting rights.

In order to fulfill its responsibilities as a TV station, it is of utmost importance to work to ensure the stability of its business. However, since the beginning of this year, many major advertisers have suspended their commercial message placements, resulting in Fuji Media Holdings posting a net consolidated loss of ¥20.1 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025.

It is hoped that the new management team will completely change the old corporate culture and strive to manage the company in a highly transparent manner. Fuji Media Holdings must regain the trust of its sponsor companies, leading to a recovery in advertising revenues.

Dalton Investments proposed that Fuji Media Holdings separate its real estate business and concentrate on its content business. However, Fuji Media Holdings considers the real estate business, which is expected to be highly profitable, as necessary to ensure business stability.

Considering the public nature of a broadcasting station, management from a long-term perspective is important. Fuji Media Holdings’ view is understandable.

Fuji Media Holdings will continue to face off against activist shareholders from now on. According to its management plan announced in May, Fuji Media Holdings intends to strengthen its movie and animation businesses and promote overseas sales of its programs, among other steps. In order to broaden shareholder support, Fuji Media Holdings must focus on improving earnings.

It will also be essential to build a corporate culture that emphasizes human rights and heightens awareness of legal compliance.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 26, 2025)