Masahiro Nakai and Fuji TV: Commercial Sales Struggles and Early Damage Control Failure

The true meaning of “Nakai’s comment,” which drew public disapproval

Masahiro Nakai (52)’s “900 million yen settlement” related to a woman trouble is not subsiding; rather, it is escalating.

When “Women’s Seven” reported on the issue last December, it was stated that Nakai had paid a settlement and reached an agreement, so many in the industry thought it wouldn’t become a major scandal. 

Initially, television networks didn’t report on the matter, but after Nakai issued a statement and acknowledged the facts, both commercial broadcasters and even NHK began covering the story in general news. Furthermore, the line from Nakai’s statement, which read:

“With the settlement being reached, I will be able to continue my entertainment activities without any issues,”

became controversial, drawing criticism online such as:

“Shameless. What is he thinking?”
“Does he not have a proper team of advisors?”

According to a source from a wide-show program,
“When things were in this state, Nakai likely had his own intentions behind including such a statement in his apology. He must have informed the TV stations he works with in advance about the weekly magazine article. Some stations believed that since it was settled with a settlement, it wouldn’t be a big deal and thought, ‘If it’s resolved, then there’s no problem.’ However, for Nakai, with programs being canceled one after another, he must have felt that things weren’t going as planned. At the same time, there might have been an indirect message behind it, telling them not to pursue any penalty fees.”

The criticism was not only aimed at Nakai but also began to target Fuji TV, specifically A, the programming director, who was reported to have been involved in the issue. However, since Fuji TV continued to deny the involvement of its employees, the controversy only grew, and eventually, shareholders and sponsors became involved.