Masahiro Nakai, one of Japan's top TV hosts and a former pop star, says he is retiring to take responsibility over sexual assault allegations.

The allegations concern a 2023 encounter with a woman that involved a closed-door setting and a “sexual act against her will”. Read more at straitstimes.com.

TOKYO: One of Japan's biggest boy band stars and best-known television hosts announced his retirement on Thursday (Jan 23) after being accused of sexual misconduct, Japanese media reported.

One of Japan's best-known pop stars and TV hosts announced his retirement Thursday after sexual misconduct allegations, in the latest scandal to rock the country's entertainment industry. Japan's showbiz industry was then rocked by another bombshell sexual assault scandal involving Hitoshi Matsumoto,

Nakai’s decision came following reports that he engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with a woman that led to a settlement with the victim.

Masahiro Nakai said he has completed all discussions “regarding my termination, cancellation, removal and contract annulment.”

Former star of J-pop band SMAP Masahiro Nakai resigned after several damning reports and suspicions that broadcasting giant Fuji TV covered up the assault case. The scandal is part of a wave of sexual assault cases hitting the Japanese entertainment industry.

Masahiro Nakai, a former J-pop star turned TV host, said he was retiring following sexual harassment allegations and broadcaster Fuji TV announced a fresh probe into the matter, which has spooked advertisers.

Observers say the former boy band member's fall from grace echoes music mogul Johnny Kitagawa's decades of sexual abuse Japan's Fuji Television Network has hired external lawyers to investigate a snowballing sex scandal surrounding pop star-turned-TV celebrity Masahiro Nakai,