Top brass at Japanese network giant Fuji Television and its parent company have stepped down following allegations involving Masahiro Nakai.

The spiralling controversy involves Masahiro Nakai, the 52-year-old media personality who was the leader of defunct male idol group Smap, and mainstream broadcaster Fuji Television. It also highlights the growing role that foreign activist shareholders are playing in compelling change in stuffy Japanese boardrooms.

The president and chairperson are out after complaints of a lack of transparency surrounding Masahiro Nakai in Japan

Fuji TV chairman Shuji Kano and president Koichi Minato stepped down to take responsibility for an alleged sexual assault by a TV host at a 2023 dinner that the Japanese network is alleged to helped organize.