Tag - sex crimes

 
Menu
Search
 
July 21, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

SEX CRIMES

Members of the popular Japanese pop group SMAP, including scandal-plagued Masahiro Nakai (right), perform in Beijing in September 2011.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 29, 2025
A pop-star sex scandal shows the death throes of old Japan
As the leader of a now-defunct boy band SMAP, the 52-year-old Nakai has been a ubiquitous mainstay in Japanese life for decades.
Members of the media raise their hands for questions as outgoing Fuji TV President Koichi Minato attends a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Explainer
Jan 28, 2025
What we learned at Fuji TV's marathon Nakai scandal news conference
Longtime executive of Fuji TV Hisashi Hieda, who has been dubbed the “emperor” of the broadcaster, was not present at the news conference and did not resign.
Fuji TV President Koichi Minato (left) and Chairman Shuji Kanoh, also chairman of the broadcaster's parent company Fuji Media Holdings, bow during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday. The two have announced their resignations.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 28, 2025
Fuji TV president resigns over handling of Masahiro Nakai scandal
Koichi Minato has been the target of criticism following the revelation that he became aware of the incident involving Nakai right after it occurred in June 2023.
A prosecutor allegedly raped by her boss holds a news conference after submitting the petition on Monday in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 28, 2025
Petition filed to investigate alleged rape of Japan prosecutor
While the defendant initially apologized at the first hearing, his lawyer later said his client had thought there had been consent.
Members of the media crowd the venue before the start of a news conference at Fuji TV's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Society / First person
Jan 28, 2025
Yelling and random tangents: What it was like covering Fuji TV's 10-hour presser
The once-in-a-lifetime news conference showed what would happen when the Japanese press was given total freedom with no time limits.
Fuji Media Holdings' headquarters in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Thursday
JAPAN / Media
Jan 25, 2025
Fuji TV board to meet on Monday to discuss scandal
The board is expected to discuss the company's response to calls for Fuji Television executives, including President Koichi Minato, to take responsibility over the scandal.
Fuji TV's headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 24, 2025
Scandal-hit Fuji Media stock trading soars 1,767% on shakeup bet
A total of 237.8 million shares changed hands in Tokyo, compared with 12.74 million last week.
Fuji Television's poor handling of sexual misconduct allegations against celebrity Masahiro Nakai has led to an exodus of sponsors from the broadcaster.
JAPAN / Media / FOCUS
Jan 24, 2025
What are the real issues behind the Fuji TV scandal?
Fuji TV's handling of sexual misconduct allegations against TV personality Masahiro Nakai led to a firestorm of public disapproval. Where did it go wrong?
A building in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, that houses the Naha District Public Prosecutor's Office
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 24, 2025
U.S. Marine not indicted in sexual assault case in Okinawa
After comprehensive consideration, the prosecutor's office determined that it is difficult to build a case against the marine.
TV star Masahiro Nakai abruptly announced his retirement Thursday as the fallout from sexual misconduct allegations against him continued to expand.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2025
Ex-SMAP member Masahiro Nakai to retire amid sexual misconduct allegations
The 52-year-old former SMAP member said his contracts had been wound up, and that negotiations with sponsors were in progress.
Fuji Media Holdings' headquarters in Tokyo's Minato Ward. The company will hold an extraordinary board meeting on Thursday over the firestorm sparked by TV host Masahiro Nakai's alleged sexual misconduct.
JAPAN / Media
Jan 22, 2025
Fuji TV scandal sparks probes on exploitation within TV industry
The sexual misconduct allegations against TV host and former SMAP member Masahiro Nakai have thrown a spotlight on the TV industry's culture and ethics.
Hirohito Shibuya was arrested on suspicion of constructive forcible sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 20 in February 2023, when he was living with his wife, eight former wives and three children.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 21, 2025
Man who lived with many women dies before ruling on sexual assault
According to the indictment, Shibuya, 76, sexually assaulted a girl at his home by telling her that she would be eaten by aliens, weakening her resistance.
Fuji TV President Koichi Minato speaks at a news conference on Friday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Media
Jan 20, 2025
What went wrong at Fuji TV's news conference on allegations against Nakai?
The broadcaster, which imposed various restrictions for the event that included denying access to many media agencies, ended up worsening the scandal.
Fuji TV is losing more advertisers following allegations about inappropriate behavior by a celebrity host and questions about its handling of the case.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2025
Fuji TV loses more advertisers amid inquiry into host’s behavior
Insurance firm Dai-ichi Life Insurance and telecommunications company NTT East have decided to suspend ads on the major broadcaster.
Fuji TV President Koichi Minato speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2025
Fuji TV to launch probe after allegations of sexual misconduct
The move comes amid rising criticism over the broadcaster’s handling of alleged sexual misconduct by former SMAP member Masahiro Nakai.
The families of the victims of sexual violence and others hold a news conference in the city of Osaka on Dec. 4 after submitting a petition to the Osaka Prefectural Assembly calling for the continuation of the Sexual Assault Crisis Healing Intervention Center Osaka, a one-stop support center within a hospital.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jan 17, 2025
Osaka sexual violence support center faces existential threat
SACHICO, Japan's first one-stop support center within a hospital setting for women affected by sexual violence, has been asked to leave Hannan Chuo Hospital.
Fuji TV in the Odaiba waterfront area in Tokyo in 2021
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2025
Fuji TV scrutinized over handling of allegations against ex-SMAP member Nakai
The scandal has sparked widespread criticism, with many questioning Fuji TV’s corporate governance and crisis management.
The Fuji TV building in Tokyo's Odaiba district. In a letter to Fuji Media Holdings' board of directors, Dalton Investments expressed outrage over the “serious flaws” in the broadcaster’s corporate governance in relation to its handling of the uproar sparked by TV star Masahiro Nakai, a former member of boy band SMAP.
JAPAN / Media
Jan 15, 2025
U.S. investment firm demands Fuji TV probe Nakai's alleged sex misconduct
Dalton Investments expressed outrage over the “serious flaws” in the broadcaster’s corporate governance amid the uproar sparked by the former member of boy band SMAP.
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2025
U.S. Marine suspected of sexual assault in Okinawa
The U.S. Marine is suspected of sexually assaulting and injuring a woman indoors on Okinawa's main island last November.
Masahiro Nakai in Tokyo in October 2017
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2025
TV networks drop Japan boy band star over sex allegations
Reports say that Masahiro Nakai, a former member of SMAP, paid a woman a lump sum of ¥90 million.
Japan ruling bloc loses majority in Upper House after election drubbing
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who serves concurrently as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, leaves at the party's headquarters following announcement of Upper House election result projections in Tokyo early Monday.
Polls open for key Upper House election that could shake Japanese politics
People vote during Japan's Upper House election at a polling station in Tokyo on Sunday.
Sunken WWII Japanese warship Teruzuki found off Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands. A team from the U.S. nonprofit Ocean Exploration Trust has discovered the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Teruzuki on the deep seabed off the Solomon Islands as the 80th anniversary of the war's end approaches.
Japan team finds ancient ocean full of squids
The ancient ocean was full of squids, whose population exceeded that of fish or ammonites, a Japanese research team mainly from Hokkaido University has found through a new method using technology.
Voters in Tokyo reflect shifting political views across Japan
Pedestrians walk in front of an election notice board displaying posters of candidates in Tokyo on Sunday.
‘Noto Democracy’ and the slow work of civic change
Yukio Iokibe’s “Noto Democracy" centers on Motoyuki Takii, a former junior high school teacher who publishes a handwritten newspaper every month to encourage the residents of Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, to engage in local politics.
In microbes we trust: Embracing the nature of fermented food
You don't need an oven to make Kenji Morimoto's easy and delicious Miso Sticky Toffee Crepe Cake.
Touring the Silk Road — without leaving Tokyo
One of the entrances to Pao Compound, a nine-story Silk Road-inspired complex in Tokyo's Higashinakano neighborhood
The self as a muse: Leonard Foujita's world in paintings and photos
One of Leonard Foujita’s biggest muses was himself. He painted self-portraits, often with a cat on his side, looking back at the viewer. He posed for photographers throughout his life, the displayed photos showing he retained his signature bowl cut and round glasses.
Japan's rice farmers are confounded by Shinjiro Koizumi’s policies
Kiyoshi Shibata stands in front of one of the rice paddies in Murayama, Yamagata Prefecture, where he produces the prefecture's signature rice brand Tsuyahime.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027
Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER