Fuji TV’s Bold Move? Expert Weighs In on Nakai Lawsuit Stirring Shareholder Meeting

A shareholder asked, “Do you intend to sue Mr. Nakai?”

The shareholders’ meeting of Fuji Media Holdings, the parent company of Fuji TV, which had drawn much attention, was held on June 25.

The 11 board members proposed by the company were approved by majority vote, while a counterproposal from major shareholder Dalton Investments, a U.S. investment fund, was rejected.

During the meeting, a question was raised regarding Masahiro Nakai (52), who had been at the center of the Fuji TV controversy:

“Is there any intention to sue him?”

In response, Fuji TV answered:

“We believe this is something that should be carefully considered while consulting legal and other experts.”

This statement did not rule out the possibility of legal action.

The uproar began with reports of a ¥90 million settlement involving a woman connected to Nakai. It seemed the issue had reached a conclusion with a report from Fuji TV’s Third-Party Committee, and that once the employees involved in the incident were disciplined, only corporate governance matters would remain.

However, Nakai’s legal team reignited the controversy by issuing a counterstatement against the Third-Party Committee’s findings of sexual violence. The statement read:

“There was no evidence of violent or coercive sexual acts, which is what the term sexual violence generally implies in Japanese.”

Nakai’s side requested a reinvestigation and disclosure of evidence from the committee, but the Third-Party Committee refused, and there has been no further development.

Why did Nakai’s side choose to issue such a rebuttal in the first place? As Nakai himself has made no public comments, the reason is unclear, but many believe it may have been a preemptive move in case Fuji TV decides to take legal action.

Legal liability for discrediting the third-party committee

Fuji Television has announced that it is preparing a lawsuit to pursue legal responsibility from former President Koichi Minato and former Executive Vice President Ryo Ota. Additionally, a male shareholder of Fuji Media Holdings filed a shareholder derivative lawsuit seeking approximately 23.3 billion yen (about USD 145 million) in damages against 15 past and present executives, including Hisashi Hieda, Director and Senior Advisor, and Minato. The basis of the claim: that the company suffered damages due to the mishandling of the incident involving Masahiro Nakai and a woman.

This raises the question: Is there a real possibility that Fuji TV could also sue Nakai for damages?

We asked Kyosuke Nishiwaki, a lawyer and former head of the legal department at TV Asahi.

“It’s not impossible for Fuji TV to demand compensation from Mr. Nakai, but legally, it would be a high hurdle.

The starting point of the major losses Fuji suffered is certainly Mr. Nakai. However, the mass withdrawal of sponsors from Fuji was largely due to how poorly Fuji TV handled the situation, such as the failure of the first press conference.

The direct cause of the damage lies in the nature of the then management team. While Nakai bears some responsibility, a major portion of the blame lies with the executives. That makes it difficult to draw a clear line regarding which part of the loss was caused by Nakai.

It’s clear that the woman suffered damages directly caused by Nakai, but how much Fuji TV can hold Nakai financially responsible for, and how they prove the amount of damage, would be legally challenging.”

Regarding Nakai’s rebuttal of the sexual violence findings by the third-party committee, Nishiwaki explains:

“He may be attempting to downplay the situation by framing it as a private issue between a man and a woman, not a criminal act of sexual violence, as a defensive move—to reduce the risk of the company seeking compensation from him.”

However, Nakai’s rebuttal has led to renewed online harassment of the woman. On this, Nishiwaki warns:

“By pushing back against the third-party committee, Nakai has only made them his enemy. There’s no benefit to it—if anything, it might be seen as an unfounded attack on the committee’s evaluation, which could result in legal consequences for him.

Also, since it was Fuji TV that commissioned the third-party committee, his rebuttal is essentially criticizing Fuji TV’s actions too. Fuji and the committee would be in a strong position to demand: ‘What evidence do you have to say such things?’”

There’s even a possibility that Fuji TV and the third-party committee could file a lawsuit against Nakai’s side for defamation, claiming their honor was damaged.

Even if Nakai continues to deny the sexual violence finding, it’s unlikely that his public image will recover at this point. As the former leader of a once-beloved national idol group, perhaps the most dignified course left is to step away quietly—without further struggle.