Fuji President Minato’s press conference: “I’ll leave it to the investigation committee”… Fuji President Minato’s press conference: “Dodging” questions and answers with the press.

For the first 10 minutes of the conference, he read out a written statement

On January 17, Fuji Television Network finally held a press conference after some weekly magazines reported the involvement of its employees in the “90 million yen settlement dispute” with TV personality Masahiro Nakai (52).

At the beginning of the press conference, Fuji Television President Koichi Minato read a 10-minute document and explained the background to date. According to the document, he was aware of the trouble in early June of ’23, immediately after it occurred, and that the top priority was the woman’s physical and mental recovery and the protection of her privacy. He also explained that he had been contacted by Nakai about the trouble, but did not investigate the matter with Nakai out of concern that the trouble would be known to many people. He also said that he had carefully timed the end of “Dareka to Nakai” because he was concerned about the speculation that would arise if it were to end abruptly.

Since the report had come up to him, he said that he was responsible for the decision. He then said that a third-party committee would be formed to investigate the matter, and that he would leave the matter to that investigation in the future.

Fuji TV had also denied on its website that any of its employees were involved in the dinner party that started the trouble. Fuji Television had also denied on its website that any of its employees had been involved in the dinner party that started the trouble, saying that it would leave that matter to a third-party committee to investigate, but made no mention of the fact that the Weekly Bunshun, released on March 16, had reported allegations of other “sexual entertainment” by the employee in question.

President Minato then began a question-and-answer session with the press, which lasted more than an hour and a half, and the following is an excerpt from his explanation.

─ In his explanation, President Minato said that “an employee who noticed a change in the woman who is said to be the victim approached her in early June (when he became aware of the trouble). Does this mean that the victim did not report this to the company, but that the employee who noticed the change in the victim saw it as a problem?

President Minato: I do not have an answer beyond what I just gave.

──You mentioned that Nakai-san also contacted you about this matter, but when was the timing of this?

President Minato: This is a matter that will be referred to an investigative committee. Yes, I will refrain from answering at this time.

─ ─ Am I correct in assuming that this is after the trouble in early June?

President Minato: That would be correct.

When” and “what” was discussed with Nakai?

Executive Director Masato Ishihara, who was present at the meeting, then answered questions about the establishment of the third-party committee, and questions about Nakai’s troubles flew again.

───You said that you became aware of the problem with the woman in early June of ’23, but at that point, did the bureau also understand that the other party to the trouble was Mr. Nakai?

President Minato: I will leave this matter to the investigative committee, so I will refrain from discussing it here.

─ Did you interview Mr. Nakai at his request?

President Minato: I have talked with Mr. Nakai about various matters, but I would like to leave any further matters to the investigative committee.

───Why wasn’t the program (“Dareka to Nakai”) terminated at the time of the reorganization?

President Minato: Yes, I will repeat what I explained earlier, so I will not answer any further.

─ ─ Do you think that Mr. Nakai’s trouble is against the “human rights policy” of the Fuji Media Holdings Group?

President Minato: I believe that this is a matter that will be thoroughly investigated by the Investigation Committee, including our perception of the situation.

─ Did you explain to the victim woman why you were continuing the program?

President Minato: As I mentioned earlier, I would like to refrain from saying anything further here.

───How have you been treating the women victims so far in terms of care?

President Minato: I think this is something for the investigative committee to do.

We do have get-togethers.”

─ ─ In the testimony of the alleged female victim, there was testimony that Fuji Television employees routinely arrange “sexual contact” between women and celebrities, and that this has been done on numerous occasions; is this true?

President Minato: I would like to put it in the manner of whether there was such a thing, but I would like to leave that and other matters to the investigative committee’s inquiry.

President Minato: I saw your name mentioned in a series of news reports.

President Minato: We do have social gatherings regarding program production. I will refrain from saying anything further, as I am also a subject of the investigation.

President Minato seemed to want to say something, since his name had also been mentioned in the reports, but he did not give a specific response. Questions about the third-party committee again flew, and Executive Director Ishihara responded. After that, the question about Nakai was asked again.

─ ─ I would like to ask you about your talk with Mr. Nakai. Did you first hear from Mr. Nakai that there was a problem before he and the woman settled out of court and signed a confidentiality agreement?

President Minato: Let me refrain from going further than what I have just explained.

─ Did you communicate with the woman with whom Mr. Nakai had a problem before the press conference?

President Minato: I have no further information than what I have just explained.


The question about the third-party committee was asked again, and the reporter’s questions then proceeded to the drinking party that was said to be the source of the trouble.

─ You mentioned that there are program launches and get-togethers, but apart from sexual entertainment, do you often invite announcers and other people who are not involved in the program and have get-togethers with them?

President Minato: Not often. We just say to the announcing department, “Yes, we’ll do it,” and it’s free participation. If you want to come, come.

─ Is this much different from what you have done in the field, Mr. Minato?

President Minato: This may be a personal opinion, but I don’t think it has changed.

President Minato: Is there anything that you have to do because you are told to do so by your boss?

President Minato: That is not our corporate culture. Those who want to come can come.

The spokesperson explained that Nakai’s contact regarding the trouble was not a hearing of any kind with a lawyer present. Executive Director Otake then answered questions about the sponsor’s reaction. Questions about the Nakai were again asked.

Until the end of the program, he continuously answered, “It depends on the investigation by the investigation committee.

─ ─ If the program is terminated, is it correct to say that the Nakai-san incident was the trigger?

President Minato: We will have the investigation committee look into the circumstances surrounding this.

─ ─ I believe that Mr. Nakai is in effect on hiatus from his activities at ……, but in his statement he said that he would be able to continue his entertainment activities without hindrance. As President Minato, what are your personal thoughts on this? Also, will Fuji Television use Mr. Nakai in the future?

President Minato: Again, I will refrain from going any further than I explained earlier.

In regard to the question about sponsors, a surprising revelation was made by Executive Director Otake that he had not informed the sponsors until after the news report came out. In addition, during the press conference, Fuji Television repeatedly asked the audience to refrain from asking any questions that might reveal their identities in order to protect the privacy of the victims and the women, creating a bizarre atmosphere in the hall.

President Minato dodged questions throughout the press conference. However, the press conference was criticized because only member companies of the press club were allowed to enter, and freelance reporters and TV cameras from other stations were not allowed. Although he reluctantly held the press conference under pressure from his major shareholder, a foreign fund, and others, it appears that he managed to get through it by postponing everything to a future investigation.

In the end, the timing and members of the third-party committee have not yet been decided. It must be said that there is still a long way to go to get to the bottom of the situation.

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