Retirement of celebrity Masahiro Nakai at major broadcaster again forces entertainment industry to assess how it handles abuse allegations
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.
