TV stations withdraw the star of a Japanese boy band due to sexual allegations

TOKYO – Major television networks have distanced themselves from one of the biggest stars of Japanese boy bands of the 1990s after media reports said he paid a large settlement to a woman over alleged sexual misconduct.

Reports that surfaced in December 2024 revealed that Masahiro Nakai, a 52-year-old former member of the hugely popular group SMAP, paid a woman a one-time sum of 90 million yen (AU$777,000).

This was intended to resolve what much of the Japanese media cautiously described as “sexual troubles” surrounding the 2023 meeting.

There are few details about the incident, but leading tabloid Shukan Bunshun reported that it took place behind closed doors and a “sex act against her will.”

Major broadcaster Fuji TV said on January 8 that its weekly show hosted by Mr. Nakai had been “cancelled for now.”

The decision was made following “our comprehensive review of the situation in light of recent reports regarding our host Nakai,” the channel said on its website.

Similarly, on January 7, Nippon TV’s weekly variety show co-hosted by Mr. Nakai aired in which his appearances were removed.

Nakai agreed with the decision made from a “comprehensive” point of view, the broadcaster told AFP, adding that “appropriate measures will be taken” on what happens to the program in the future.

During the group’s nearly 30 years of fame, the now-disbanded SMAP topped the charts in Japan and across Asia.

When AFP contacted Nakai’s talent agency, they could not immediately be reached for comment.

He told local media, including the Asahi Shimbun, that he was bound by a confidentiality agreement between the parties involved that prohibited discussing details of what happened.

As quoted by the agency, the star “never used force or violence against her.”

One of Mr. Nakai’s most powerful corporate sponsors, SoftBank, has also reportedly decided to stop airing the ad starring the star.

The scandal comes after now-defunct boy band Empire Johnny & Associates – of which SMAP was long the main face – pleaded guilty in 2023 to sexual abuse charges brought against its late founder.

The agency said music mogul Johnny Kitagawa, who died in 2019 at the age of 87, had been sexually assaulting teenage boys and young men seeking fame for decades.

The Japanese showbiz industry was then rocked by another The sexual assault scandal against Hitoshi Matsumotoone of the most popular comedians in the country.

In November 2024, Matsumoto said he was dropping a defamation case against the magazine Shukan Bunshun, which published allegations including that he forced oral sex on one woman and forcibly kissed another.

Detailing Mr. Nakai’s case in December, media outlets including Shukan Bunshun alleged that a Fuji TV executive was involved in arranging his meeting with the woman – an allegation the broadcaster denies.

“Our employee was not involved in the organization of the event at all and had no knowledge of its existence,” Fuji TV said in a statement. AFP

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