Yutaka Hasegawa Exposed Workplace Harassment 12 Years Ago—Fuji TV’s Investigation Cutoff Under Fire

The contents of the sexual harassment within the station that he had spoken about 12 years ago

While Fuji TV is shaken by the ongoing scandal, former announcer Yutaka Hasegawa (49) has been drawing attention.

On February 1, he appeared on businessman Takafumi Horie’s (52) YouTube channel in a video titled “[Emergency Discussion] ‘There is a Tribute Culture at Fuji TV’—Former Fuji Announcer Yutaka Hasegawa Criticizes the Distorted Structure Created by Hisashi Hieda.” The video has surpassed 7.2 million views as of February 18.

Hasegawa expressed his gratitude on X:

“7 million views in 10 days—I’m honored. I sincerely appreciate everyone who watched. Thank you once again, Takafumi Horie, for this valuable opportunity!”

Meanwhile, inside Fuji TV, reactions have been less than welcoming, with voices saying:

“At a time like this… give us a break.”

Fuji’s upper management is reportedly furious about Hasegawa’s one-sided “revelations.” Online reactions have also been mixed, with some calling it a publicity stunt and others criticizing him for not speaking up while he was still employed.

However, this is not the first time Hasegawa has criticized his former workplace.

After leaving Fuji in 2013, he exposed the network’s internal sexual harassment issues in an interview with Tokyo Sports, an interview that has now resurfaced in light of recent events.

At the time, a major sexual harassment scandal involving a Nippon TV producer and a female caster had made headlines. According to the July 18, 2013 issue of Tokyo Sports, when asked about Fuji TV’s situation, Hasegawa immediately responded:

“(Fuji TV) is much worse than that!”

He specifically named a former program producer, referred to as X, and accused him of harassing multiple female announcers, stating:

“He groped their chests all the time.”

Furthermore, he alleged:

“Every female staff member who worked on a program with X was subjected to it.”

“One staff member had his hand slipped under her skirt, then moved up to her chest and groped her.”

Hasegawa’s past revelations now seem to align with the current Fuji TV scandal, adding further scrutiny to the network’s handling of misconduct allegations.