Masahiro Nakai, former leader of idol supergroup SMAP, has recently been embroiled in a sex scandal. This followed Japanese media outlet Shukan Bunshun's exposé alleging Fuji TV's practice of privately arranging female announcers for "sexual favors." The report led not only to a boycott of Fuji TV by the Japanese public but also a mass withdrawal of advertisements by sponsors, severely impacting the broadcaster.
However, today (January 28), Shukan Bunshun issued a correction statement, noting that its original article claimed "Ms. X (the alleged victim) was invited by executive A from Fuji TV's programming department." Subsequent interviews, however, revealed the actual situation was "Ms. X was invited by Nakai himself." This correction has greatly displeased many Japanese netizens, who believe such erroneous reporting misled the public, reigniting criticism now directed at Shukan Bunshun.
The correction statement noted: "In an article published in our December 26 issue last year, it was stated that the dinner gathering on the day of the incident was attended by 'Ms. X, who was invited by executive A from Fuji TV's programming department.' However, subsequent interviews revealed the actual situation was 'Ms. X was invited by Nakai himself,' and 'she believed it was a continuation of a gathering arranged by executive A.' We hereby apologize and issue this correction."
The statement further added: "Additionally, the subsequent second report (published in the January 8 issue) and all content thereafter have been reported based on the results of subsequent interviews."
Because the initial report directly implicated Fuji TV in arranging "sexual favors," leading the public to believe it was a widespread bad practice within the TV station, the current correction now suggests that the dinner was arranged by Masahiro Nakai himself, and was unrelated to the TV station.
However, Fuji TV has already been heavily criticized, reaching a point where even holding a press conference failed to provide satisfactory explanations or quell public anger. Correcting such a crucial fact in this manner has greatly displeased many netizens, who feel Shukan Bunshun shows no remorse for its error, and that such a casual correction is infuriating.
▼ Many Japanese media personalities have criticized Shukan Bunshun's handling of the correction.
While Shukan Bunshun's past exposés have sometimes hit the mark, and it's not without a history of errors, for the public, it's unacceptable that Bunshun, with its power to socially and materially impact a person's life, would so casually correct such a significant fact. It truly makes one question the media outlet's sense of responsibility.
Especially since Fuji TV had just held a 10-hour overnight explanatory press conference yesterday, only for Shukan Bunshun to publish its correction the very next morning. It's no wonder Fuji TV could barely explain the identity of the so-called "executive A" during the press conference.
Now, public anger towards Fuji TV seems to be shifting back to Shukan Bunshun, the original source of the exposé. It appears this controversy will continue to simmer before any resolution is reached.