TOKYO — What started as a sexual misconduct scandal by a former pop idol in Japan has turned into a corporate governance disaster, with Fuji Television Network being abandoned by corporate advertisers and an investigation being demanded by U.S. activist fund Dalton Investments and its British affiliate.
Shock spread nationwide after multiple media outlets in December reported that Masahiro Nakai — who gained fame as a member of the pop group SMAP, which has broken up — reportedly came to an out-of-court settlement in which he paid 90 million yen ($578,000) to a woman he had allegedly coerced into nonconsensual sexual activity.
