Fuji TV’s Imminent Breakdown Crisis: What’s Behind the Alarm?

The president is lying

“If the press conference on January 27th goes poorly, Fuji TV might really end up being dismantled.”

This was said by a Fuji TV employee in their 40s involved in the production of variety shows.

After the revelation of the 900 million yen trouble between Masahiro Nakai (52) and a woman, Fuji TV’s response has been so chaotic that the suspension of advertisements from over 75 sponsor companies continues. In an extraordinary board meeting on January 23rd, Fuji TV decided to establish an independent third-party committee based on guidelines from the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA), which will propose a report with specific recommendations by the end of March.

However, as of now, for the sponsor contracts in the April to September 2025 period, most companies have held off on making decisions, with some even withdrawing. The revenue loss is said to be as much as 30 billion yen. The employee continues:

“Right now, almost no program production for the April period and beyond is taking place. We are unable to request work from production companies. The third-party committee’s recommendations are due at the end of March. If sponsors haven’t returned by then, how are they planning to continue production? Are they planning to just run reruns across all time slots? In the employee briefing on January 23rd, President Koichi Minato (72) said, ‘We have reserves, so we’re fine,’ but subcontracted production companies can’t hold out that long.”

Regarding a report in Josei Jishin on December 19th about Fuji TV executive A introducing Nakai and the female victim, the company denied:

“The employee had no involvement, including in setting up the meeting.”

This led some employees to declare, “The president is lying,” but most felt, “Since the president said so, it must not be involved.”