<figure id="attachment_446704" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1440px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-446704"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="de849c5a"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/22363a9d5878f7587b4037491644ddb5.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-446704" class="wp-caption-text">After a series of problems, Fuji TV has revamped its management team and is pushing ahead with reforms.</figcaption></figure>
<h3>A director resigns after misconduct comes to light</h3>
Following a series of issues surrounding former talent Masahiro Nakai (53), Fuji Television—now pushing ahead with major corporate reforms under a revamped management team—has been hit by yet another executive scandal.
On November 7, Fuji Media Holdings (FMH) announced via its official website that FMH and Fuji TV director Michiyo Yasuda (55) had resigned the same day due to improper expense reimbursements. According to company president Kenji Shimizu (64), who held a press conference that evening, the issue came to light during an internal audit in mid-September. A subsequent investigation found roughly 60 expense claims since 2020 that did not match the facts, totaling about one million yen. Yasuda admitted the misconduct, expressed her intention to repay the funds, and submitted her resignation.
“Expense checks have become much stricter as part of the company’s reforms. Under the previous system, reimbursements like these might not have become a major issue, but the new management isn’t letting anything slip. The days when certain employees could do whatever they wanted are over,” said a sports newspaper reporter.
One of those who allegedly enjoyed such do-whatever-you-want freedom was former programming executive B (as referred to in the third-party committee report), who received a four-level demotion and a one-month disciplinary suspension for harassment and other misconduct uncovered by the committee. According to the report, B—known to have had a close relationship with Nakai—organized a meeting in a suite at a foreign-owned luxury hotel in Tokyo, attended by Nakai and talent U (also a pseudonym used in the report).
The cost B paid for the suite was 381,365 yen, which he billed to the company as facility usage fees for program filming.
“Under the old regime, B was never questioned about how much he spent. Compared to that, some people say Yasuda is being treated too harshly,” said a mid-level employee at Fuji TV.
After being disciplined in June, B was reportedly assigned to a subsidiary in New York starting in July.
“There have been past instances where employees involved in problems were quietly reassigned to the New York subsidiary until things cooled down. When I heard he was going to New York, I thought, ‘So B is following the same pattern,’” the sports newspaper reporter added.
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="I thought he had already left for New York..."></div>
<h3>A chance at a second try</h3>
However, a new fact emerged in the personnel changes dated October 1. B’s new title was listed as “Corporate Headquarters, Digital Strategy Office — Manager.” The Fuji TV employee quoted earlier continues:
“It’s rumored that employees—especially those who had worked in the same department as B—organized a petition opposing his reassignment to New York. Some say the petition was even taken to the U.S. Embassy in Japan to directly request that B’s visa application not be approved.
The Digital Strategy Office at Corporate Headquarters is a newly established division. As its manager, B will be responsible for promoting workplace reforms through digital technology and pushing technological innovation using tools like generative AI.
Because this is a department expected to shape the future of the company, if he produces results there, it’s possible he could eventually return to the production field. This personnel change can be interpreted as giving B a chance to try again.” (Fuji employee)
Was there really a petition campaign to block B’s New York assignment? And was this new position truly intended as an opportunity for him to try again? When FRIDAY asked Fuji TV, the company responded: “We do not disclose details of personnel matters, but the facts suggested in your questions are entirely untrue.” 
The road to rebuilding is long—and steep.
<figure id="attachment_446712" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1632px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-446712"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ac5f508d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/d858425dc1435dc2be890b5ce1a91e9d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-446712" class="wp-caption-text">When this magazine confronted B in late January, he said regarding the June 2023 dinner between Nakai and the woman — the incident that triggered everything — “I didn’t even know the two had met, nor was I aware that such a gathering took place.” (From the February 14, 2025 issue)</figcaption></figure>
&#8220;FRIDAY Digital&#8221; welcomes your information and tip-offs. Please send your information to the following information form or to the official X.
Information Form: <a href="https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/tips">https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/tips</a> 
Official X: <a href="https://x.com/FRIDAY_twit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://x.com/FRIDAY_twit</a>
<div class="expapp-no-provided-scope expapp-no-provided-scope-end"></div>

 Takero Shigumura (direct interview)

 Fuji Television Network, which is seeking a rebirth as a corporation by revamping its management team, has uncovered misconduct on the part of its directors. On the other hand, a new appointment was made to a former senior executive who was reported to be transferred to New York because of "a problem. What is the background?

Did He Go to New York? The Surprising Backstory of Fuji TV’s Personnel Shift

Access Ranking