Fuji Media Holdings: Activist Shareholders Forced Firm to Make Difficult Decision

Editorial

14:59 JST, February 8, 2026

The standoff between Fuji Media Holdings, Inc. and activist shareholders demanding management reform has finally subsided.

Fuji Media should recognize the significance of its responsibility as a broadcaster and urgently rebuild its management.

The problems with Fuji Media’s management intensified last year. The sexual assault scandal involving former TV personality Masahiro Nakai exposed governance failures at Fuji Television Network, Inc., leading to the widespread cancellation of ads.

Furthermore, the emergence of an investment group linked to the now defunct group of investment funds led by Yoshiaki Murakami — known as the Murakami Fund — as a major shareholder created an additional cause for concern for Fuji Media.

The former Murakami Fund side conveyed its intention to increase its shares in the company through a tender offer up to the 33.3% cap allowed under the Broadcasting Law.

If the fund succeeded in increasing its stake, it could potentially wield a de facto veto over important management decisions. Fuji Media, heightened by a sense of crisis, is believed to have temporarily considered activating defensive measures against the takeover bid.

The point of contention with the former Murakami Fund side was the handling of the urban development and tourism business under Fuji Media. This segment comprises 11 companies — including Sankei Building Co., which owns prime real estates in central Tokyo — and generates a significant portion of the group’s operating profit.

The former Murakami Fund side argued that this structure, heavily reliant on the real estate business, hinders the growth of media operations and other segments, and was also a factor behind the recent scandal. It demanded the separation or sale of the real estate business.

Fuji Media, on the other hand, maintained its position that the real estate business was essential to ensure management stability.

Last Tuesday, however, the holding company ultimately announced it would accept the separation or sale of the real estate business. Based on this, the former Murakami Fund side withdrew its plan for a tender offer. It can be said that Fuji Media was forced into making a difficult decision.

Fuji Media implemented a buyback for about 30% of its outstanding shares. As the former Murakami Fund side has accepted the move, the standoff between the two sides has now eased. However, separating the real estate business, which was a pillar of the company’s operations, is expected to make its management difficult in the future.

It is undesirable for a broadcasting company’s management to become unstable.

Fuji Media has Fuji Television under its umbrella. The Broadcasting Law stipulates that television stations should contribute to the development of a sound democracy. The responsibility of news reporting is also significant.

The Fuji side must reflect deeply on how it undermined trust in broadcasting, deteriorated its management and forced itself into making a difficult decision.

In response to the scandal, an expert panel of the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry called for measures to ensure sound management across the entire broadcasting industry. It is also crucial for the government to strengthen oversight of the industry while also taking care to not excessively interfere with programs.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 8, 2026)