<figure id="attachment_442204" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-442204" style="width: 4928px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b0009505"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/10/acbc4fe413487991b2281f3d5470e5b6.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-442204" class="wp-caption-text">Masahiro Nakai, who was recently reported to have &#8220;plumped up&#8221;. He seems highly motivated to return to work. &#8230;&#8230;</figcaption></figure>
<h2> Danger of Secondary Damage from the Trial</h2>
 The October 1 edition of &#8220;Josei Jishin&#8221; (women&#8217;s magazine) captured a recent photo of Masahiro Nakai (53), which has become a topic of conversation.
 Nakai, who has been leading a reclusive life, has been concerned about his physical condition, but in the photo, he looks plump as he drives his car,
 He is probably seeking a comeback through methods such as video distribution and welfare activities.
 A person involved in the entertainment industry commented, &#8220;He was almost a recluse.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 She was almost a recluse, but recently she seems to be going out more and more often. According to an eyewitness, her hair was gray and shaggy at one point, but now she is plump and looks as if she has gained more weight than she did before the riot.
 In March of this year, a third-party committee found that Nakai had committed &#8220;sexual violence,&#8221; which was one of the reasons for his silence until now,
 One of the reasons for his silence until now has been the &#8220;court case with Fuji Television.
 One of the reasons for his silence so far is &#8220;the court case with Fuji TV,&#8221; according to a sports newspaper reporter.
 At a press conference following the report of the third-party committee&#8217;s investigation, Fuji Television President Kenji Shimizu said, &#8220;We are still considering all options&#8221; in pursuing criminal and civil charges against Nakai, and did not deny the possibility of a lawsuit.
 In August, Fuji TV filed a lawsuit against former president Koichi Minato and former managing director Ryo Ohta, claiming damages amounting to 5 billion yen. Nakai must have been wondering if he would be next,
 However, the likelihood of Fuji Television suing Nakai is quite low,&#8221; said one TV station.
 &#8220;It is quite unlikely that Fuji Television will sue Mr. Nakai,&#8221; said an executive at a TV station.
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
 One of the reasons why the third-party committee broke off negotiations with Mr. Nakai was the risk of causing secondary damage to the victim. If the case goes to trial, the media coverage will become more heated, and the risk of secondary damage to the woman will increase. Fuji would want to avoid that.
 There are also reports about the possibility that Minato and others who have been sued by Fuji TV may sue Nakai. When we asked lawyer Kosuke Nishiwaki, former head of TV Asahi&#8217;s legal department, about this, he said, &#8220;This could also be said of Fuji Television Network,
 If Fuji Television were to sue, it would be on the grounds that the company and its executives have suffered terrible damages because of what Mr. Nakai did,&#8221; he said. However, although Fuji Television&#8217;s damage was mainly caused by the loss of sponsors, if Mr. Minato and Mr. Ohta had taken decisive action, such as cutting the contract with Mr. Nakai when the matter first came to light, it is possible that the sponsors would not necessarily have been affected and the company would not have suffered any damage. Even if it is true that it was Mr. Nakai who made the big mistake, it is doubtful to what extent he can be held responsible for the damage to the company, considering that a large part of the direct damage to the company was caused by the then management&#8217;s misjudgment and mishandling of the situation. He could sue, but it is highly unlikely that the suit would be approved.
 Perhaps Mr. Nakai&#8217;s change in behavior, as described above, is not unrelated to the fact that he is now convinced that there is no longer any danger of a huge lawsuit being filed against him.
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" What the signature drive has revealed"></div>
<h2>SMAP boasted one million people at the dome concert, but</h2>
 In the midst of all this, Nakai&#8217;s ardent fans are also becoming more active: on July 31, they posted a petition on the online petition site &#8220;Change.org&#8221; in defense of Nakai
 The petition titled &#8220;Question the use and value of the opaque third-party committee report &#8211; the correct way to report on Masahiro Nakai and the damage caused by the media coverage&#8221; was launched on July 31.
 The petition titled &#8220;The main purpose of the petition drive&#8221; is to support Mr. Nakai. The main purpose of the petition is as follows,
 We have strong doubts and concerns about some of the reports on former TV personality Masahiro Nakai and the &#8220;third-party committee&#8221; set up by Fuji Television Network to review them.
 The report goes on to say.
 The support of fans will no doubt encourage Mr. Nakai. The goal is 3,000 signatures, but as of October 9, 4,916 people have signed the petition. Although the goal has been exceeded, &#8230;&#8230;.
 Mr. Nakai said, &#8220;To be clear, it is difficult for Mr. Nakai to make a comeback on TV or radio. I think the main purpose of the signatures is unreasonable. As he himself admits, it is a clear fact that Mr. Nakai has engaged in unwanted sexual acts with women. Some fans say that Mr. Nakai was a trusted person not only for his entertainment activities, but also for going to the disaster-stricken areas to encourage the victims, transporting relief supplies, and making continuous donations over a long period of time, but no matter how much good he did, it is not acceptable.
 What makes it even more difficult is that although the number of signatures exceeded the goal, he was once a member of a national idol group that claimed to have a total of 1 million people attend their dome shows. His signature is only 4,900. &#8230;&#8230; I suspect that many of his fans have left him. When this happens, it means you&#8217;re no longer the kind of talent to take more risks.&#8221;
 It seems that the fans&#8217; wishes will never be fulfilled.

 Hiroyuki Sasaki (Entertainment Journalist)

 Shinji Hasuo

 Masahiro Nakai has been in the news for being photographed by a women's magazine looking "plump" and healthy. He is said to be highly motivated to make a comeback, but the "harsh reality" that he has been confronted with is ......

Although the lawsuit is likely to be avoided, the “harsh reality” shatters Masahiro Nakai’s “eagerness to return to work.

Access Ranking