Ex-star of a Japanese boy band removed from TV sets for “a sexual problem”

Major Japanese television networks have distanced themselves from a famous 1990s boy band member after media reports claimed he paid a woman a large sum of money linked to suspicions of sexual misconduct .

Masahiro Nakai, a former member of the hugely popular group SMAP turned TV presenter, allegedly paid a woman 550,500 euros (90 million yen) to settle what Japanese media cautiously described as « a sexual problem ».

This would concern a meeting which took place in 2023 without giving further details. Fuji TV said Wednesday that the weekly show hosted by 52-year-old Masahiro Nakai was « canceled for the moment ». The decision was taken following a « full review of the situation and in light of recent information regarding our presenter Nakai »the channel said on its website.

 

« Appropriate measures will be taken »

Nippon TV

Similarly, on Tuesday, a weekly entertainment show on Nippon TV co-hosted by Nakai was broadcast without his appearances, which were cut during editing. Nakai accepted this decision « on the principle »declared the channel to AFP, adding that « appropriate measures will be taken » regarding the future of the show.

An agreement not to discuss the details of the affair

The now-disbanded SMAP Group led sales in Japan and throughout Asia for nearly 30 years. Contacted by AFP, Masahiro Nakai’s artistic agency was not immediately available for comment. But she told local media, including the Asahi Shimbun daily, that she was bound by a confidentiality agreement between the parties involved not to discuss details of the case. The star, however, « never used force or became violent » toward the alleged victim, the agency said.

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The scandal comes after the now-defunct boy band empire Johnny & Associates – and of which SMAP was long the headliner – admitted in 2023 to allegations of sexual abuse by its late founder. Music mogul Johnny Kitagawa, who died aged 87 in 2019, had for decades sexually assaulted teenagers and young men seeking fame. Japan’s showbiz industry was then rocked by another sexual assault scandal targeting Hitoshi Matsumoto, one of the country’s most popular comedians.