TOKYO (TR) – Fuji Media Holdings, which owns Fuji Television, has revised downward its consolidated financial results forecast for the fiscal year ending in March.
The revision is due to lost commercial sponsors stemming from a sexual misconduct scandal involving retired entertainer Masahiro Nakai, reports the Mainichi Shimbun (Jan. 31).
On Friday, the company lowered its net profit for the current term to 9.8 billion yen from the previous forecast of 29 billion yen. This is a drop of about 74 perent from the previous term’s net profit of 37 billion yen. The company’s advertising revenue is expected to fall by 23.3 billion yen compared to the previous forecast.
The incident involving Nakai, 52, took place in 2023. Tabloids reported in December that the former entertainer was one of three people scheduled to attend a dinner party. However, after one executive from Fuji Television cancelled he was left alone with an unnamed woman in the entertainment industry.
Further details as to what transpired thereafter are not available since, as Nakai said in apology issued on January 9, a settlement was reached with the woman. He announced his retirement from show business on January 23.

Commercials cancelled
Since Fuji held its first press conference on the matter on January 17, over 70 companies have stopped placing commercials on the network. They have been replaced with public service advertisements. Commercial contracts set to start in February have also been canceled.
Fuji does not plan to charge fees for replaced or canceled commercials by companies such as Toyota Motor Corporation, Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company, Seven & i Holdings Co., and Lawson, Inc.
On the day of Nakai’s announcement of his retirement, Fuji TV held a board meeting and decided to set up a third-party committee to investigate the matter. The results of the investigation are expected to be ready by the end of March.
The impact of the scandal is not limited to Fuji Television. Sponsors are replacing commercials nationwide for Fuji-produced programs and canceling commercials that are individually contracted with affiliated local stations. According to a source, the total loss for affiliated stations is currently estimated at around 1.3 to 1.4 billion yen, and there is a possibility that it will increase by around 200 to 300 million yen in the future.
That source adds that although it depends on the company local stations are said to “generally depend on advertising revenue for around 90 percent of their revenue.” It is inevitable that this problem will deal a blow to smaller regional stations, which are already in a difficult financial position.
Fan club to shut
Also on Friday, Nakai’s fan club site announced that it will close on February 19.
After the service ends, it will no longer be possible to view the content on the site. Instructions on how to proceed with refunds will be provided at a later date. In addition, new memberships to the fan club have been suspended.