Yumi’s English Boot Camp: Star TV host retires as s?x scandal rocks Japan industry
【時事英語】中居正広電撃引退－BBCなど海外メディアの報道を徹底解説！
Star TV host retires as s?x scandal rocks Japan industry
Japanese TV host Masahiro Nakai, one of the country’s most recognisable faces on television, has announced that he is retiring after a s???ual assault allegation that has rocked the country’s entertainment industry.
Nakai, who presented for Fuji Television, was accused of s??ually assaulting a woman at a 2023 dinner party held by staff.
Dozens of companies have pulled their commercials from Fuji Television amid claims that the company’s staff had tried to cover up the scandal.
Nakai has denied using violence against the woman, and said on 9 January that he had “resolved” the matter with her through a settlement. But this did little to quell public anger.
In a social media statement posted on Thursday, Nakai said that he was “truly sorry for causing trouble and losses to so many people”.
“I’m really, really sorry for saying good-bye this way.”
His resignation comes days after Fuji Television president Koichi Minato confirmed that the company did not disclose Nakai’s scandal despite being aware of it long before it was reported in the media.
Vehicle makers Nissan and Toyota, as well as retail company Seven & I holdings which runs the retail 7-eleven convenience store chain, were among those that announced they were pulling advertising from Fuji Television over the scandal.
Fuji Television is expected to set up an independent committee to investigate the scandal.
Appearances of Nakai have also been scrubbed from programmes.
Nakai soared to stardom in the 1990s as the leader of Japanese boy band SMAP, one of Asia’s most successful acts. The group released more than 50 singles – many of which became chart toppers – and launched a weekly variety show on prime-time television.
After SMAP disbanded in 2016, Nakai went on to become a television host as well as one of the wealthiest celebrities in Japan.
Japan’s entertainment industry is facing a reckoning with long unspoken cases of s??ual assault.
In 2023, J-pop executive Johnny Kitagawa, who by then had been dead for four years, was exposed to have s??ually abused hundreds of boys and young men for decades.
His talent agency, Johnny & Associates, had managed SMAP among other boy bands.
s??ual assault
boy band
recognisable
=recognizable
s??ual abuse
allegation
嫌疑、容疑
動詞は allege 疑いをかける、申し立てる
be accused of –
accuse 告訴する、告発する
dozens of
thousands of
amid
9 January
米 January 9
resolve 解決する
quell 鎮静する、鎮圧する、しずめる
resignation
resign (動詞) 辞任する、辞職する
自ら辞める
首になる？
be fired, be dismissed
disclose
dis 否定の接頭辞
ディスる、disる
diss 【語源】disrespectより。= dis
“ディスる”のディスは、英語のdissから来ています。 なのでそのまま、dissです。 She’s been dissing him. 彼女、彼のことずっとディスってるよ。
vehicle
7-eleven
7アンド イレブン
リエゾン
programme(s) イギリス式の綴
=program
appearance
登場、出演
soar(ed )to stardom
boy bands 男性アイドルグループ
idol 偶像
英語ではアイドルと言わない
prime-time
ゴールデンの
disband 解散する
celebraties
芸能人、有名人
日本語では
セレブ、お金持ち
reckoning
ちゃんと考える、向き合う
s??ually abuse
decade(s)
[US] dékèid ｜ [UK] dékeid ｜ dikéid
hundreds of -,
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