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.

Correction. I overstepped my bounds.

In 1980, Jiro Shinbo joined Yomiuri TV as an announcer. On January 28, he revealed on his YouTube channel that at the time, it was common knowledge among students that the TV industry only hired through connections. Around 1979, concerns about a lack of diversity in personnel led to corrective measures, and a regular recruitment system was introduced. Before that, for about 20 years, employees were hired solely through connections. Notably, Endo joined Fuji TV a year later, in 1981.

Last March, Mr. Endo posted a video on Nagasaki City’s official YouTube channel

The video “Shusaku Endo Archive Video: ‘The Character of Shusaku Endo'” was shown on Nagasaki City’s official YouTube channel in March of last year.

He talks about his father, Shusaku Endo, in a video on the official Nagasaki City YouTube channel last March.

“I was never told to study.”

“When I was around six or seven, I was only given three pieces of advice: ‘Don’t lie,’ ‘Don’t do anything cowardly,’ and ‘Support the weak.’ If I didn’t follow them, I would be scolded.”

He revealed this.

“At that press conference, Endo was the only one who candidly stated, ‘(Nakai) had a different understanding than the woman.’ When a reporter asked, ‘Does that mean Nakai believed there was consent?’ Endo replied, ‘If I were to be more direct, yes.’ Everyone recognized this as a significant statement, but shortly after, Yoichi Ueno, the press director moderating the conference, retracted Endo’s comment, saying, ‘Regarding the difference in understanding mentioned earlier, due to privacy concerns, we will not be able to provide an answer.’ Endo then hesitantly followed up, saying, ‘I retract my statement. I spoke too far.’ The room erupted in chaos, with reporters exclaiming, ‘You can’t just take that back!'” (Wide Show Desk)

Endo’s off-the-cuff comment may have had its basis in his father’s teaching of don’t tell lies.

However, former Fuji Television announcer Yutaka Hasegawa appeared on Takafumi Horie’s YouTube channel on February 1, and stated that the current board members are

“Yes-man of Director and Senior Advisor Hisashi Hieda.”

He said that the current board members are yes-men of Mr. Hieda’s advisor, Mr. Hisashi Hieda, and that they are not able to come up with interesting projects and are only thinking about which celebrities to use, which is annoying the staff.

If Hasegawa’s story is true, Endo worked for the strong rather than the weak and rose to the top. I wonder if Mr. Endo was really able to follow his father’s three teachings, “If you don’t follow them, you will be punished.”