Fuji VP Ryunosuke Endo’s Slip Lessons from His Father

Akutagawa Prize-winning author Shusaku Endo’s eldest son

Fuji Television Network is facing a crisis as a news organization due to the female trouble caused by TV personality Masahiro Nakai (52).

The 10-hour press conference held on January 27 was attended by President Koichi Minato (72), Chairman Shuji Kano (74), Vice Chairman Ryunosuke Endo (69), President Osamu Kanemitsu (70) of Fuji Media Holdings (Fuji HD), and Executive Vice President Kenji Shimizu (64), who will become the new Fuji HD president.

At the beginning of the press conference, the resignations of Mr. Minato and Mr. Kano were announced, and the day after the press conference, Vice Chairman Endo also expressed his intention to resign by the end of March, when the report of the third-party committee is submitted, in response to a direct interview on TV.

Mr. Endo, who drew attention at the press conference, is the eldest son of Akutagawa Prize-winning author Shusaku Endo.

Mr. Endo appeared on “Downtown Now” broadcast on August 23, 1919, when he had just assumed the presidency of Fuji Television Network at the time. As the drinks were flowing, actor Shinobu Sakaue (57) asked him point-blank, “What is it about Fuji Television?”

When asked,

“Does Fuji TV have a lot of nepotism hires?”

Endo responded with a smile,

“There’s no way that’s true!”

However, the station’s announcer, Yuki Yamazaki, jokingly added,

“About half of them are nepotism hires, right?”

“In reality, Fuji TV still has more nepotism hires compared to other networks. A significant percentage of employees come from families of top celebrities, professional baseball players, politicians, major corporate executives, or advertising agency leaders—people who can be useful in program production and sponsorship relations. Since Endo’s father was such a renowned writer, many believe he, too, was a nepotism hire,” said a TV network insider.