Japan’s Masahiro Nakai sexually assaulted Fuji TV staff amid ‘culture of harassment’: report
Lawyer-led panel calls the incident a ‘serious infringement of human rights’ and says Fuji TV management lacked awareness of sexual violence
An independent panel investigating allegations against one of Japan’s top celebrities has concluded he sexually assaulted a female employee of Fuji Television Network amid a culture of harassment at the company.
A “serious infringement of human rights occurred”, the report by a lawyer-led panel said, describing the incident involving the woman as sexual violence “occurring as an extension of her job” and refuting Fuji TV executives’ previous conclusion that it was a “private issue”, according to Japanese media.
“Although there was no involvement of [other] employees on the day, it was not just a private matter between the two people and we have determined that it was an extension of business duties,” said panel leader Akira Takeuchi as quoted by The Japan Times.
But the panel said it was not in a position to establish whether Nakai, who was a host and TV celebrity with Fuji TV, had committed a criminal offence.
Takeuchi noted, however, that there was a “persistent culture of sexual harassment at Fuji TV”, which was found to have a culture of inviting good-looking female employees to dinners with business partners, potentially giving rise to sexual harassment.