The Sankei Shimbun 
Koichi Minato, President of Fuji Television, announces his resignation. January 27, 2025. Minato City, Tokyo.
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Koichi Minato, president of Fuji Television, announced his resignation on Monday, January 27, amid a high-profile controversy involving a female employee and entertainer Masahiro Nakai.
The issue, involving allegations of sexual misconduct, was mishandled after it came to light. Fuji TV then held a closed press conference without television cameras on January 17, adding to the problems. Minato and others at Fuji TV and its parent, Fuji Media Holdings cannot avoid responsibility for these missteps.
Fuji Television must cooperate fully with a third-party committee investigation and take all necessary measures to regain trust. Without doing so, restoring its reputation will be challenging.
Controversy and Transparency
At an extraordinary board meeting on January 27, Fuji Television and its parent company, Fuji Media Holdings (FMH), finalized key leadership changes. The meeting concluded with the resignations of Minato and Shuji Kano, the chairman of Fuji Media Holdings and its broadcasting unit.
At a marathon press conference later that day, Minato apologized. "First of all, as a company, we would like to offer our sincere apologies to the woman concerned, whom we were unable to care for adequately due to our lack of awareness of [the effect on her] human rights." He also added, "I keenly feel that we lacked transparency and accountability as a television network. This has undermined trust in us as a media organization."
It was revealed during the press conference that network executives had been aware of the trouble since June 2023. However, the incident was not reported to Minato until August 2023. Fuji TV also continued to cast Nakai in programs after the incident, which raised significant concerns about their response.
While protecting the woman's privacy is essential, this is a situation suspected of involving human rights violations. Despite this, the network failed to share sufficient information internally or conduct a formal investigation into Nakai. Their response cannot be deemed appropriate.
Reacting to severe criticism of its January 17 press conference, Fuji held an over ten-hour-long press conference without media restrictions on January 27. We agree that providing an open forum for coverage is a basic responsibility of a media organization.
Independent Investigation
Next, a third-party committee will investigate the incident following the Japan Federation of Bar Associations' guidelines. One focus will be on the involvement of network employees in the incident. In addition, it should also address whether there have been similar cases and identify issues related to corporate governance.
The experienced lawyer selected to chair the third-party committee has previously chaired similar investigations. One involved a breach of trust case at Tokyo Women's Medical University. We expect a thorough investigation that prioritizes protecting human rights and preventing any recurrence.
Investigation results from the third-party committee are expected by the end of March. However, the network must begin sharing necessary information swiftly and appropriately beforehand. Transparent communication is vital to restoring trust.
This is a developing story raising significant issues of corporate governance and awareness of individual rights. Follow JAPAN Forward for further developments and updates.
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Author: The Sankei Shimbun
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