"I Want to Meet Announcers"... Fallout as Top Japanese Actor Implicated in Fuji TV Sex Scandal

Controversy Reignites Following Recent Women's Magazine Report
Internal Investigation Reveals Fukuyama's Involvement

Japanese society has been rocked as more individuals involved in the "sex entertainment scandal" at Fuji TV have been revealed. Following former SMAP leader Masahiro Nakai, it has now come to light that top actor and singer Masaharu Fukuyama was also implicated in the scandal.

Since his debut in 1989, Masaharu Fukuyama has been a leading actor and singer-songwriter representing Japan. Masaharu Fukuyama Instagram

On August 18, Japanese magazine Josei Seven reported that an internal investigation at Fuji TV, triggered by Masahiro Nakai's sexual assault case, uncovered Masaharu Fukuyama's involvement. The Fuji TV scandal first surfaced in December of last year, when allegations emerged that Fuji TV, centered around Nakai, had invited female announcers to drinking parties for entertainment purposes. This led to a series of advertising suspensions and resignations among the management, plunging Fuji TV into a management crisis. The third-party committee established by Fuji TV to investigate the sex entertainment allegations concluded that "sexual violence in the course of business was recognized," which sent shockwaves through Japanese society.

The Fuji TV scandal, which had seemed to be subsiding, was reignited by a report in a women's magazine. On August 18, Josei Seven reported that the person mentioned in the investigation report-stating that a Fuji TV executive had female announcers and female employees accompany meetings with prominent program guests, during which sexually explicit conversations took place-was Fukuyama. According to the report, Fukuyama sent messages to a Fuji TV executive requesting "to arrange gatherings with female announcers" and expressing a desire "to meet new announcers." At these gatherings, he was reported to have made sexually harassing remarks to the female announcers present.

In a follow-up report, NHK stated that when asked whether Fukuyama had requested the presence of female announcers, he admitted, "There were such statements." Regarding concerns that "some said the sexual conversations were distressing," he responded, "I am deeply reflecting on my actions." As the controversy grew, Masaharu Fukuyama told Josei Seven in an interview, "After reading the report, I have been deeply troubled. I was considering how to apologize," and added, "Ultimately, this interview request gave me the opportunity to speak." Josei Seven plans to publish the full interview with Masaharu Fukuyama in a subsequent report.

Since his debut in 1989, Masaharu Fukuyama has been a leading actor and singer-songwriter in Japan. He has enjoyed nationwide popularity through dramas such as "Galileo" and the "Ryomaden" series, as well as the film "Like Father, Like Son," and he has a large fan base in Korea as well. In 2015, he married actress Kazue Fukiishi, who is 13 years his junior, and started a family.