The chairman and president of Japan's Fuji TV, one of the country's largest television networks, announced his resignation on Monday following a sex scandal involving a famous presenter.
At a press conference, Shuji Kano, chairman of Fuji TV, and Koichi Minato, president of the broadcaster, announced their resignation and apologized to viewers and those involved for the problems caused.
According to the BBC, the case involves Masahiro Nakai, also a Japanese singer and actor, former member of the boy band SMAP, who is accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a party organized by Fuji TV in 2023. Since then, dozens of companies have withdrawn its advertising for the channel, criticized for trying to cover up the scandal, and the Japanese government also spoke out, asking the broadcaster to regain the trust of viewers and sponsors.
Car manufacturers Nissan and Toyota were among the companies that pulled their advertising from Fuji TV.
Koichi Minato had already admitted that the company had not disclosed the case, even though it knew about it.
The controversy arose after the media revealed that the television presenter had paid an anonymous woman more than half a million dollars. Nakai denied having used violence against the woman and claimed that he had "resolved" the matter through an agreement with her.
New allegations later emerged that a Fuji TV employee helped organize the meeting.
Nakai announced last week that he was retiring from show business after the network suspended his weekly program. Other broadcasters also cut employment ties.
Fuji TV has set up an independent commission to investigate the case.
