Hitoshi Matsumoto and Masahiro Nakai’s future? The “inside story” of the news and the “aftermath” are blurted out! Entertainment World Undercover Roundtable Discussion

Veteran TV station employees, sports newspaper entertainment desks, and entertainment professional executives gathered

The year 2013 began with the shocking news that Masahiro Nakai (53), who had reigned at the top of the entertainment world for 30 years, was quickly forced to retire due to reports of sexual assault.

In April, Mei Nagano (26) was accused of a shocking two-timing affair with Kei Tanaka (41), and in June, Taichi Kokubun (51) disappeared from the public eye for “noncompliance,” and TOKIO was disbanded to take responsibility for his actions.

In November, “Downtown Plus,” a paid subscription service, was launched. Matsumoto Hitoshi (62), who had also been suspended due to a scandal, made a comeback after an absence of about a year and 10 months, and there was no shortage of entertainment news throughout the year.

This time, FRIDAY held a roundtable discussion inviting Mr. A, a veteran TV station employee, Mr. B, an entertainment desk clerk for a sports newspaper, and Mr. C, a major entertainment professional executive. We asked them to tell us the inside story of the major news that caused such a stir and what happened afterwards.

Matsumoto has made a successful comeback. ……

Mr. A: I am focusing on Matsumoto’s return on “Downtown Plus,” which had over 200,000 registered users at the time of its launch on November 1 and exceeded 500,000 about 10 days later. It was a huge response that exceeded our expectations. The break-even point for “Downtown Plus” is considered to be 300,000 registered users, so at this point we can expect to generate a simple calculation of over 200 million yen per month in profit. How do you plan to develop this business in the future?

Mr. B: It was truly a rocket start, but the core fans have probably already registered, so it is hard to imagine an even bigger increase in registrations in the future. The key person is probably his partner Masanori Hamada (62). It is said that he is reluctant to appear on “Downtown Plus,” and in fact he has not.

Hamada has a feeling that if he and Matsumoto are going to work together again, he wants to do it on terrestrial television first. He probably wants to prioritize his return to terrestrial broadcasting, where many fans are waiting for him, over “Downtown Plus. How do you see it, Mr. C?

Mr. C: I hear that they are negotiating with talents from the old Johnny’s office to appear in place of Hamada. If a former Johnny’s talent, who has a high fan base, appears on the show as a regular, the number of subscribers could increase by thousands or tens of thousands. Among them, Kazuya Ninomiya (42) is said to be very positive. I hope he will appear on “Downtown Plus” as a hidden gem. I am also keeping an eye on Shimada Shinsuke (69).

Mr. A: I wonder if Nakai-kun, who works as an MC with Matsumoto, has drinking parties with him, and is good friends with him both publicly and privately, will not appear. Although he released a document in May denying the investigation report of the third-party committee set up by Fuji Television, there is no prospect of him resuming his activities. ……

Mr. C: When he first retired, he seemed to be in a reclusive state and could not be contacted, but it seems he started going out around summer. Some people say they saw Nakai at a high-end sushi restaurant in Tokyo. It seems he also enjoys playing golf and mah-jongg with his longtime friends.

However, there is still a way for him to make a comeback through video streaming, but I hear he has no intention of doing so…I guess his “counterattack” in May was also aimed at restoring his reputation and avoiding a huge penalty charge by denying sexual assault against a female announcer. The Nakai fiasco has put Fuji TV in a tight spot, but what about the current situation?

Fuji Television on the precipice

Mr. A: Sponsors have been coming back in droves, but there is a serious shortage of female announcers: Keiko Tsubakihara (40) and Yumi Nagashima (34) in March, Risa Kishimoto (26) in June, and Marino Fujimoto (30) in December, and the rush of popular announcers leaving continues.

They must have felt insecure about their future career at Fuji. As a result, mid-career announcers such as Mana Mikami (36) had to be promoted to management positions, and many young and mid-career employees lament that the burden on the analysts who are still with the company will only increase if this situation continues.

Mr. B: The downturn in information programs is also serious.’ In the April 26 reorganization, “Sun! Shine,” which has only been on the air for one year, will be discontinued, and yet no replacement program is ready, isn’t that bad?　For the time being, we will adjust to extend the broadcasting time of “Mezamashi TV” in the previous time slot or “Nonstop! in the later time slot. ……

Mr. A: What will happen to the ruckus between Kokubu and Nippon TV? What is the “noncompliance” that Nippon TV stubbornly refuses to explain? I was hoping for an “answer to that question.

Mr. C: Nippon TV’s response to Kokubu has been criticized as “cutting off the lizard’s tail,” but it is a fact that Kokubu harassed female staff members by sending them indecent images. No TV station would want to use such a celebrity. As far as I know, Kokubu’s harassment was a problem for a long time. That’s why I don’t hear many TV people defending Kokubu.

Mr. A: I think it’s only Matsuoka Masahiro (48).　I was surprised when he blurted out his dissatisfaction with Nippon TV in “Shukan Bunshun” and “Shukan Shincho,” saying, “Isn’t Nippon TV’s way of not explaining anything a compliance violation? DASH! DASH! DASH!” could be terminated?

Mr. B: The program will be continued in April 2014. We have already notified various places. Ultraman DASH,” which is a New Year’s tradition, is also on schedule, and Nippon TV does not want to give up its “dollar box” that consistently achieves viewership ratings of around 10%.

Mr. C: However, as long as Nippon TV continues to refuse to “answer the question,” Matsuoka and Shigeru Johjima (55), whose appearances have been drastically decreasing, will probably see even fewer opportunities. The only way is to increase “substitute appearances” by members of “SixTONES” and “Naniwa Danshi,” and old fans will leave. Neither STARTO nor the juniors will be able to ignore Matsuoka’s wishes, and it will be difficult for the show to continue.

Negotiations continued until the very last minute…

Mr. B: In terms of the old Janis, ’26 will see the last tour of “Arashi”. They were eagerly awaited to participate in the “NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen,” but in the end it did not come to fruition.

Mr. A: NHK had been negotiating for his appearance until the very last minute. However, Sho Sakurai (43) and the other members did not agree to it. The reason was that they felt it would be ungrateful to the fans who had been waiting for their revival to perform on terrestrial TV before the last tour, not just in Kohaku. They must have been making sense in their own way.

Mr. C: Two groups from STARTO, “King & Prince” and “SixTONES,” participated in “Kohaku. I heard that “timelesz,” which had a big breakthrough, was also in talks to participate, but the members declined, saying that they wanted to prioritize the office’s countdown concert and interaction with fans via live chat and other means.

Mr. A: Will Nagano, who is suspected of a two-timing affair with Kei Tanaka and even of a love triangle with Kentaro Sakaguchi (34), be able to make a comeback?

Mr. B: He withdrew from the NHK historical drama “Toyotomi Brothers! and his commercial videos were deleted one after another. He was closed for a while, but it was announced that he would star in the Netflix movie “My Crazy Femi Girlfriend,” which will be distributed in ’26.

However, the offer came even before the affair report. Netflix doesn’t have to worry about sponsors’ intentions, so the story must have proceeded as planned. What is the atmosphere like on the set?

Mr. C: They cranked it up in December, and they seem to be in good spirits, chatting and laughing with the people around them. Immediately after the affair, he was mentally unstable and sometimes cried in front of his co-stars, but I think he was able to refresh himself by going abroad and watching live performances of artists with his ex-manager.

–In ’26, we can expect to see big entertainment news one after another.

The entertainment industry in ’26 will be a rush of drug arrests and marriages of big-name celebrities…?

From the January 2, 9, and 16, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY