For the past month Japan has been gripped by allegations of sexual misconduct involving one of the country’s best-known stars at a major TV network, in what is becoming a litmus test of the entertainment industry’s response to abuse claims against prominent celebrities.Masahiro Nakai, a former member of the hugely popular boyband Smap, is alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman at a private dinner in June 2023 that was reportedly arranged by a senior member of staff at Fuji TV, one of Japan’s biggest broadcasters.Nakai, who enjoyed a successful post-Smap career as the host of a TV show aired by Fuji, on Thursday announced his retirement, telling his fanclub site that he had “completed all discussions with TV stations, radio broadcasters and sponsors regarding my termination, cancellation, removal and contract annulment”.“I will continue to face up to all problems sincerely and respond in a wholehearted manner. I alone am responsible for everything,” Nakai said, according to the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper.Nakai’s retirement at 52 comes soon after he acknowledged he had been involved in “trouble” in connection with the unnamed woman with whom, according to the Shukan Bunshun weekly magazine, he later reached an out-of-court settlement worth ¥90m (£466,000).Nakai, who is not the subject of a police investigation, denied he had used violence or that a third party had been involved, adding that he had responded “sincerely” to the woman in the settlement. “This trouble is entirely down to my shortcomings,” he said in a statement on his official website.Industry in turmoilJapan’s entertainment industry has been forced to rethink its handling of sexual assault and misconduct allegations since powerful music mogul Johnny Kitagawa was targeted by allegations that he had sexually abused hundreds of boys and young men who had joined his agency hoping to become pop idols.Broadcasters and their partners in the print media ignored the allegations for more than two decades as they continued to employ boybands – including Smap – from Kitagawa’s Johnny & Associates stable to tap into the lucrative youth market.The media were forced to confront the allegations in 2023 – four years after Kitagawa’s death in 2019 aged 87 – after the BBC documentary Predator: the Secret Scandal of J-pop generated global headlines and encouraged more survivors to come forward. Hundreds of people are now seeking compensation from the agency.TV stations, including the public broadcaster NHK, issued belated apologies for their “code of silence” regarding the allegations against Kitagawa, whose agency has since attempted to re-invent itself under new management and a different name.The case has also shone a light on other TV networks, amid reports that dinners and drinking parties involving celebrities and young women are commonplace. Nippon TV and other channels have announced their own investigations into whether its staff had organi
Fallout from alleged sexual assault by former J-pop star marks cultural shift in Japan
