Why Did JR East’s Affiliate Suddenly Close Its Info Site? The Controversy That Sparked Fan Outrage

An apology posted on the corporate website

The trouble that began with a dispute involving a former Fuji TV female announcer led Masahiro Nakai (53) to retire from the entertainment industry this January. On March 31, a third-party committee released a report regarding the series of problems stemming from the incident, but Nakai’s legal team has repeatedly filed objections since then.

“From the perspective of Nakai’s lawyers, they are likely filing these objections to restore his honor, which they believe was damaged by the determination that the matter constituted sexual violence arising from the extension of professional duties. According to some reports, Nakai has even postponed the closure of his own company, Nonbiri Nakai, suggesting he has resolved to fight alongside his legal team,” (broadcast correspondent).

Nakai turned 53 on the 18th. Even well before the day, social media was flooded with celebratory posts and calls for petitions to help restore his honor. Passionate fans continue to believe in and support Nakai. These same fans do not tolerate what they see as biased claims against him. On July 29, JR East Group’s human resources services company JR East Personnel Service (JEPS) posted the following statement on its corporate website:

“On May 28, our company published an article titled ‘Let’s Consider the Nakai–Fuji Issue’ in the members-only site Personnel Info Web. Despite dealing with the subject of human rights, the article lacked sufficient fact-checking and contained one-sided, definitive claims that were inappropriate and lacked fairness. This caused inconvenience and discomfort to related parties and readers alike. We deeply apologize.”

JEPS also announced it would abolish Personnel Info Web, overhaul its editorial structure, and implement measures to prevent recurrence.

So, what exactly happened?

“Personnel Info Web was a membership-based service, and under the name of the JEPS General Affairs Department (Human Rights Awareness Division), it published a column about Nakai. Although it has since been deleted and is no longer viewable, the content was deemed lacking in fairness and neutrality and seen as insensitive to Nakai’s human rights. By late July, the article had spread widely online, triggering a firestorm. As a result, Nakai’s fans flooded the company with protests. There were even movements on social media to spread the company’s contact number for complaints,” (entertainment journalist).

So, what exactly did the column say?

Asking JEPS about the series of events

“The author of the column described the series of issues involving Mr. Nakai and Fuji TV as an exceptionally rare failure case in terms of corporate human rights response and crisis management by Fuji as a company. The column explained that it was written to serve as a lesson—a cautionary example—for readers.

Taking into account that details of Mr. Nakai’s troubles with the woman had not been disclosed due to confidentiality obligations, and that Nakai’s side had not accepted the investigation report and was requesting the disclosure of evidence from the third-party committee, the column went on to state: ‘From the various findings disclosed by the third-party committee regarding the events before and after the incident, Mr. Nakai’s despicable acts are evident, and I believe he deserves to be condemned.’ This was a one-sided personal opinion.

Furthermore, the author wrote, ‘Even if he was a valued client, the fact that such a relationship consistently tolerated Mr. Nakai’s selfishness and arrogance appears to have led to this malicious act of human rights violation.’ The company surely did not expect this column to enrage Nakai’s fans,” (same source).

On August 6, Shūkan Bunshun published the contents of a notification letter sent by the announcer’s attorney to Mr. Nakai, revealing details of the dispute. In response, Nakai’s legal team commented:

“We assess that this matter does not constitute the kind of conduct generally associated with the term sexual violence, nor was it non-consensual.”

For Nakai’s side—and his fans—he remains innocent. That is why the column, which had already condemned him as guilty, was deemed unforgivable.

When asked about the series of issues, JEPS provided the following written response:

“Regarding the article titled ‘Human Rights NOW: Let’s Consider the Nakai–Fuji Issue,’ published on our members-only site Personnel Info Web on May 28, 2025: despite addressing human rights, it contained one-sided, definitive claims that lacked fairness, making the content and expressions inappropriate. From July 25 onward, we received feedback from some readers. As this caused inconvenience and discomfort to be related parties and readers, we published an apology and decided to abolish Personnel Info Web.

We have not received any opinions from anyone other than our readers.”

According to the company, the decision to abolish Personnel Info Web was solely based on feedback from its member-readers, and unrelated to the online firestorm. However, the fact that the article published on May 28 only drew criticism beginning July 25 raises some questions.

The dispute between Nakai and the third-party committee’s report shows no sign of ending anytime soon.