Masahiro Nakai, one of Japan's top TV hosts and a former pop star, says he is retiring to take responsibility over sexual assault allegations

The impact of Fuji Television Network Inc.'s loss of advertisers over a scandal between a woman and former TV personality Masahiro Nakai has ･･･

The spiralling controversy involves Masahiro Nakai, the 52-year-old media personality who was the leader of defunct male idol group Smap, and mainstream broadcaster Fuji Television. It also highlights the growing role that foreign activist shareholders are playing in compelling change in stuffy Japanese boardrooms.

Observers say the former boy band member’s fall from grace echoes music mogul Johnny Kitagawa’s decades of sexual abuse.

The Japanese government on Friday called on Fuji Television Network Inc to regain trust from viewers and sponsors following a sexual misconduct scandal involving popular TV host Masahiro Nakai and the Tokyo broadcaster's subsequent handling of the case.

The president and chairperson of Japanese network Fuji Television have resigned over a widening sex assault scandal linked to one of Japan's top TV celebrities. The allegations surfaced in magazine articles in December and have since triggered claims of systematic cover-ups by Fuji TV executives.