Weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun issued a correction Tuesday for a December article that said a Fuji TV executive arranged a dinner between Masahiro Nakai and a woman, which allegedly was followed by sexual misconduct by the former TV celebrity.
According to the correction, Nakai was the one who invited the woman to the gathering, not the Fuji TV official.
In its Dec. 26 article, Shukan Bunshun reported that a Fuji TV executive arranged a dinner with Nakai, the woman and a few others. But everyone except for Nakai and the woman backed out at the last minute.
“Subsequent reports revealed that (the woman) was invited by Nakai and that she understood it to be an extension of a (previous) gathering organized by Mr. A (Fuji TV’s executive),” Shukan Bunshun said on its website.
However, the magazine maintained the executive was involved, saying he arranged a barbecue party a few months before the incident and that the dinner was a similar event.
Additionally, the woman told the magazine that “there is no doubt that the incident was an ‘extension’ of a gathering organized by (Fuji TV executive).”
On Monday, Fuji TV executives repeatedly denied the involvement of the Fuji TV official in setting up the meeting between the two, saying the official had also provided proof he was not involved, such as texts on messaging app Line.
According to the broadcaster, Nakai also backed up the executive’s claim. However, the company admitted that it has not asked the woman what happened.
Fuji TV officials said they did not view the dinner party as an extension of the barbecue party.
Following the correction, Fuji TV’s newly appointed President Kenji Shimizu questioned the timing of the magazine's correction.
“I wonder why the correction was made only yesterday. The news conference lasted more than 10 hours, but the reporters there might not have had to spend so much time (if the correction was issued sooner),” he said on Wednesday, according to TV Asahi.
On X, “Shukan Bunshun” and “Abolish Bunshun” were trending among users, with some condemning the magazine for publishing the false report. Some also called for the magazine to hold a news conference of its own.
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