<figure id="attachment_437461" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-437461" style="width: 3456px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ba80483f"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/08/6c67dd7839cda4e0fb2b9b4e8db51254.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-437461" class="wp-caption-text">Unexpected scandal gives &#8220;yellow light&#8221; to Kohaku? (August &#8217;22)</figcaption></figure>
<h3><span class="strongInContent"> Leading Male Program Performers&#8221; Attended &#8220;Inappropriate Meeting&#8221;</span></h3>
<p> On August 26, Masaharu Fukuyama (56) attended a PR event for &#8220;Black Showman&#8221; (released on September 12), a movie in which he stars. He appeared on the red carpet with co-stars Kasumi Arimura (32) and Narita Ryo (31) and wowed fans.</p>
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<p> The third-party committee established over a series of problems at Fuji Television reported that there was a &#8220;leading male program performer&#8221; who attended an &#8220;inappropriate meeting&#8221; hosted by then Fuji&#8217;s former senior managing director, Ryo Ohta (66), and that it was Fukuyama, according to the August 18 issue of &#8220;Josei Seven. According to the investigation report by the third-party committee, the meeting was rife with &#8220;sexually explicit material of an underhanded nature,&#8221; and some of the female TV announcers who attended the meeting expressed their discomfort.</p>
<p> In an interview with the magazine, Fukuyama said, <span class="strongInContent">《How should I apologize?</span> 　 <span class="strongInContent">I was worried and kept thinking about it,&#8221; and &#8220;I hope that my apologies will be conveyed to those who were offended through this interview.</span> His agency also released a statement earlier the same day. Fukuyama explained his intentions in responding to the magazine&#8217;s interview.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> According to the report, the meetings began around 2005 and continued after Fukuyama&#8217;s marriage in 2003, and were held once or twice a year until 2007. Fuji commented to the media about the said meetings, saying, &#8220;We have not confirmed any reports of harassment by Mr. Masaharu Fukuyama. Fuji&#8217;s office must have wanted to &#8220;put out the fire&#8221; before the promotion of the movie in which he plays the lead role began in earnest, and they managed to get it under control.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" NHK also &quot;no problem&quot;?"></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent">Yellow Signal&#8221; for Kohaku?</span></h3>
<p> On the day of the release of &#8220;Josei Seven&#8221;, this news was reported by all commercial broadcasters, all sports papers, general newspapers, and web media, causing a ripple effect. There has been a lot of attention on whether Fukuyama will appear on Fuji programs to promote &#8220;Black Showman,&#8221; but since Fuji is an investor in the film&#8217;s production committee, the film&#8217;s commercials themselves are already airing on the station. Furthermore, in commemoration of the film&#8217;s release, it was announced that three &#8220;Galileo&#8221; series films starring Fukuyama will be broadcast on September 13, 20, and October 4.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> The third-party committee&#8217;s report also pointed out the sexual harassment of Takaaki Ishibashi, 63, of &#8220;Tunnels,&#8221; who was exposed by &#8220;Weekly Bunshun&#8221; as a &#8220;leading male program performer,&#8221; and Mr. U, who was accused of inappropriate behavior at a meeting (as stated in the third-party committee&#8217;s report), are currently banned from Fuji. However, Fukuyama will be able to continue to appear on Fuji programs in the future.</span></p>
<p> The matter was also reported on NHK&#8217;s news program, and the NHK&#8217;s summer Koshien broadcasts continued to use Fukuyama&#8217;s song &#8220;Koshien,&#8221; which is the theme song of the festival.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> On August 9, the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of his hometown Nagasaki, Fukuyama sang a song titled &#8220;Kusunoki &#8211; 500 years in the wind&#8221; about a camphor tree that still stands at Sanno Shrine in the city, along with 5,000 people from the public. The event was broadcast live on NHK&#8217;s music special program &#8220;MUSIC GIFT.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> If the article in &#8220;Josei Seven&#8221; had been published before August 9, the situation might have been different. It is almost time for NHK to select singers for the &#8220;Kohaku Uta Gassen&#8221; on New Year&#8217;s Eve. As expected, some say that it may be difficult for Fukuyama to participate in the Kohaku Uta Gassen. &#8230;&#8230;</span></p>
<p> When asked about NHK&#8217;s opinion on Fukuyama&#8217;s &#8220;inappropriate meeting,&#8221; the response was as follows.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> NHK is systematically working to ensure a safe and secure environment, taking into consideration the mental and physical health of not only the performers but also all parties involved. Furthermore, the selection of individual songs is based on a comprehensive judgment based on independent editorial decisions.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> When asked if this matter would affect the selection of singers for Kohaku, he <span class="strongInContent">replied, &#8220;We refrain from answering about the production process of individual programs.</span> As <span class="strongInContent">for the performers, we select them based on our independent editorial judgment&#8221;.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" What will happen to the Kohaku entries?"></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent">It all depends on how the &#8220;wind&#8221; blows.</span></h3>
<p> Fukuyama is one of the essential singers for Kohaku, having participated in the Kohaku for 16 consecutive years until last year, 17 times in total, and has been a member of the white group from &#8217;20 to &#8217;24, including the last performer in &#8217;22. Fukuyama has already announced that he will hold his annual live event &#8220;Fukuyama Winter Thanksgiving Festival Part 23&#8221; at K-Arena Yokohama in Kanagawa on December 31, so if he appears in the Kohaku, it will be broadcast live from the venue. &#8230;&#8230; Former NHK employee and journalist Shinji Nakamura said, &#8220;This case of Mr. Fukuyama&#8217;s is a very serious one.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> As for Mr. Fukuyama&#8217;s case, the specific damage is not clear. It must have been very difficult for NHK to judge the high school baseball game. Canceling the theme song is a risk for NHK, as it could cause quite a bit of damage and trouble for some people. Since the specific damage was not clearly known, the use of the song as the theme song for the high school baseball relay must have continued.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> Usually, the Kohaku contestants are announced in mid-November. There is still about three months to go before the announcement, but Fukuyama&#8217;s participation in the Kohaku is said to depend on how the &#8220;wind&#8221; blows in the future.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> If the public&#8217;s view of Fukuyama&#8217;s case becomes extremely negative in the future, I think there is a possibility that he will not be allowed to participate,&#8221; Nakamura said.</span></p>
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<p> According to Nakamura, the selection criteria for Kohaku are first based on &#8220;this year&#8217;s success&#8221; and include data on CD and distribution sales and whether the song&#8217;s lyrics and dance became a social phenomenon. Another criterion is &#8220;whether the singer can sing a song in line with the year&#8217;s theme. For this reason, the contestants often sing songs that are not the hits of the year.</p>
<p> The most important factor is the public&#8217;s opinion.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> We do surveys on the singers we want to see,&#8221; he said. If there are a lot of negative comments about Mr. Fukuyama, he will not be included in the &#8216;singers I want to see. Also, the chairman and the director of the media bureau give their opinions to the site, so depending on the opinions of the upper management, there is a possibility that there may be a last minute dispute as to whether or not Mr. Fukuyama should be included.</span></p>
<p> In other words, if the movie to be released this month is a hit, it is likely to be enough of a &#8220;tailwind&#8221; to blow away the current turmoil. For Fukuyama, the success of the movie will be more desirable than ever.</p>

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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Masaharu Fukuyama and his &quot;buddy&quot; actress from &quot;Galileo"></div>
<figure id="attachment_263846" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-263846" style="width: 4356px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="1565d945"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/09/KAZZ6393_re.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-263846" class="wp-caption-text">Cast members Kazuki Kitamura (left), Masaharu Fukuyama (center) and Kou Shibasaki (right) at the Japan premiere event of &#8220;Silence on Parade&#8221; in August 2010.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_263843" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-263843" style="width: 3648px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a23997ec"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/09/KAZZ5152.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-263843" class="wp-caption-text"> Kitamura walks on the yellow carpet while taking a selfie, and Fukuyama and Shibasaki can&#8217;t help but smile (August &#8217;22).</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_263842" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-263842" style="width: 3648px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8712c922"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/09/KAZZ5083.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-263842" class="wp-caption-text"> Yuriko Yoshitaka was the heroine of the second film version, but Kou Shibasaki returned after a 14-year absence for &#8220;Silence on Parade&#8221; (August &#8217;22).</figcaption></figure>


 Kazuhiko Nakamura

 Masaharu Fukuyama has been the subject of an unexpected scandal after it was reported that he attended an "inappropriate meeting" at Fuji Television Network. While the future of his appearances on TV programs is under scrutiny, he has also been given a "yellow light" to appear in the year-end Kohaku (red and white) TV show....

Yellow Signal for Kohaku?&#8221; NHK&#8217;s judgment on Masaharu Fukuyama attending Fuji&#8217;s &#8220;inappropriate meeting&#8221; is &#8230;&#8230;

Yellow Signal for Kohaku?” NHK’s judgment on Masaharu Fukuyama attending Fuji’s “inappropriate meeting” is ……

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