Former SMAP member Nakai Masahiro apologized recently after reports emerged back in December of 2024 that he paid 90 million yen to an unidentified woman as a part of a settlement for an alleged sexual misconduct act that took place in June of 2023.
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As far as what transpired, there isn’t a lot of detail about exactly what happened, which I’m guessing was the point of the settlement. There does seem to be some detail on what led up to the incident and the aftermath of it, though.
The reports, which emerged last month, said that Masahiro Nakai, a 52-year-old former member of the hugely popular group SMAP, had paid a woman a lump sum of ¥90 million ($570,000).
That was to settle what most Japanese media outlets have cautiously described as “sexual trouble” concerning an encounter that took place in 2023.
Details are scarce on the incident, but leading tabloid magazine Shukan Bunshun reported that it involved a closed-door setting and a “sexual act against her will.”
Bunshun talked with the woman, X, as well as several people close to her. X, who worked at Fuji TV, wouldn’t say much about the incident itself as she’s bound by the lawsuit. However, she and others claim that A, a person at Fuji close to Nakai, arranged for her to join a “group” dinner party with him and Nakai. He and the others canceled at the last minute, leaving her and Nakai alone. The incident occurred that night.
X never wanted to attend the party in the first place. However, a friend of X’s said she felt compelled to because A – and, by implication, Nakai – wanted her to.
Employees of Fuji TV interviewed by Bunshun deny they were involved in the incident.
The alleged victim also called for changes in the entertainment industry, and said this has happened to other women.
After the incident, X ended up hospitalized due to mental stress. A friend says Nakai tried to send her a get-well-soon gift, which she rejected.
X considered filing police charges. However, a friend said she pursued a settlement instead because she didn’t want her name to become public.
“I don’t want to see more people like me,” X told Bunshun, choosing her words carefully. “[Japan’s] entertainment world has to change.”
“It’s like we have no right to refuse the people who make and cast the programs. We have no choice but to entertain [the entertainers].”
Despite Fuji and Nakai’s denials, she and others interviewed claim that A has set up other women at the station with male celebrities in the same manner.
“Why hasn’t Fuji stopped A?” she asked rhetorically. “They’re just turning a blind eye? There are other victims like me.”
There was obviously backlash regarding this, but there had been silence from him until now. What likely sparked the apology was Nippon TV, Fuji TV, Nippon Broadcasting System, Timee, TBS, TV Asahi, and SoftBank all distancing themselves from Nakai through cancellations, suspension, or censorship.
Thus, he gave a likely purposefully broad apology to everybody, in general, and the alleged victim.
“I am very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused everyone,” Nakai said in a statement made on Thursday. “Some of the reports are not true, and I am very sorry for the other party and all the people involved.”
“I have refrained from making any announcements due to confidentiality obligations associated with the settlement with the other party,” he added in the statement. “I have caused many difficulties in my own activities, so I would like to share as much as I can.”
Nakai acknowledged that while there was in fact “trouble” with the woman there was “there was absolutely no violence, such as raising one’s hand, in this trouble, as some reports have stated.”
Nakai closed his statement by saying, “Finally. All of this trouble is due to my shortcomings.
There is another party involved in this matter. I sincerely ask that you refrain from speculating or slandering [her regarding] this matter. I sincerely apologize to everyone. I am truly sorry.”
As for what parts of the reports were specifically untrue, they revolved around the alleged use of violence and another individual being involved. Additionally, with I suppose unsurprising hubris, Nakai also asserted that the settlement will allow him to “continue his entertainment career without impediment“.
In response to his apology, the woman stated, “I have no comment. My life won’t return to the way it was. That’s all.“
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Hopefully she at least won’t have to see him everywhere on television anymore, though obviously one has to fear that historically Nakai’s confidence about his future has been validated.