This photo taken in 2013 shows Masahiro Nakai, a former member of the J-Pop boy band sensation SMAP and a celebrity television host, at an event in Tokyo. STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

The Japanese network Fuji Television and its parent company said Monday that its president and chairperson were resigning immediately to take responsibility for a widening sex assault scandal linked to one of Japan's top TV celebrities.

The scandal centers on Masahiro Nakai, a former leader of Japan's once-hugely popular boy band SMAP, and his costly settlement with a woman over the alleged sex assault at a 2023 dinner party that Fuji TV staff allegedly helped to organize.

The allegations surfaced in magazine articles in December and have since triggered claims of systematic cover-ups by Fuji TV executives. The public outrage over the lack of transparency and explanation at the network's news conference earlier this month have led to an avalanche of advertising losses at Fuji, one of the networks where Nakai worked.

Fuji Television Network President Koichi Minato said his company mishandled the case.

"We are very sorry that we mishandled the case because of our lack of awareness about human rights and corporate governance ... and as a result our responses to the involved woman were inadequate," Minato said. "We are very sorry to have destroyed our credibility."

Car manufacturers Nissan and Toyota were among the companies that pulled advertising from Fuji TV, BBC News reported.

Minato said the case violated the woman's human rights, without providing details on grounds of privacy. He said it was handled as an "extraordinary" case requiring maximum confidentiality and sensitivity for the woman's mental health and was shared by a small group of officials. The company had continued allowing Nakai to appear on Fuji shows for a year and six months, he said, but denied covering up the case because it involved a big star.

Minato said he did not think what happened was sexual assault and that the case was not reported to the company's compliance office until the magazine report came out.

He also denied a Fuji TV employee's involvement but said allegations that the employee had previously organized barbecue and other parties for Nakai needed to be investigated.

Fuji officials also acknowledged that female announcers and other female employees have in the past participated at parties for stars, talent agency executives and sponsors, though they denied any sexual services. Minato said he believed top officials were complacent about the outdated gender roles and they now need to "update their mindset."

Nakai last Thursday announced his retirement from show business in Japan, which has already been hit by a series of sexual assault allegations in recent years in what is seen as a delayed #MeToo movement that began in Western nations in the 2010s. He said he was taking responsibility for the "trouble" and massive business losses as a result.

"I alone am responsible for everything" and "sincerely apologize," Nakai said.

He had previously issued a statement saying some of what had been reported was "different from the facts."

Minato said he last saw the woman last summer when she visited his office to tell him she was quitting.

Shukan Bunshun weekly, one of the magazines that exposed the scandal, also alleged that Fuji TV has long exploited its female announcers to entertain stars like Nakai.

The chair of the companies, Shuji Kanoh, was also resigning in a decision made at a board meeting prior to the Jan. 17 news conference, officials said.

Japan's entertainment industry is in the midst of a wave of sexual assault cases, including the abuses of hundreds of boys and young men by late talent mogul Johnny Kitagawa, whose now-defunct agency Johnny & Associates managed many boy bands, including the one to which Nakai belonged.

One of Japan's most popular comedians, 61-year-old Hitoshi Matsumoto, has also been accused of sexual assault by two women.

Following massive protests and criticism from even their own employees, Fuji TV and its parent company announced after a board meeting last week that they have set up an independent panel of lawyers to be submitted by March.

While the tabloid reports about Nakai unleashed a coverage frenzy, most Japanese media have taken a cautious approach, referring to the allegations as sexual "trouble" or misconduct.

Some media have reported an endemic culture within Japan's entertainment industry of wining and dining the top presenters, with women staffers invited to join such parties.

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