The heads of one of Japan’s biggest television channels have resigned over a sexual assault scandal involving their star presenter at a ten-hour press conference in which they were heckled, shouted at and lectured by reporters.

Fuji Television’s president, Koichi Minato, and the company chairman, Shuji Kano, announced their resignations following revelations about Masahiro Nakai, a former pop star and prominent celebrity TV presenter, who is accused by an employee of the broadcaster of sexually assaulting her.

The company’s disastrous handling of the scandal led to denunciations from shareholders and an effective boycott of the commercial channel by advertisers. It did not help that Fuji TV excluded all but a handful of journalists from a press conference and, ironically for a television news organisation, refused to allow filming.

In an effort to rectify the situation, they erred in the other direction on Monday, permitting anyone who identified themselves as a journalist to attend. They broadcast the whole event live and let it run for ten hours and 23 minutes, finally ending at 2.23am on Tuesday.

Representatives of 191 media “outlets” attended, a total of 437 people, although many of them appeared to have no more than a limited online presence. One man, apparently the proprietor of a YouTube channel, had blond and pink hair, and repeatedly called out “Fuji Television, answer the question!”

During the briefing Minato said: “Looking back, I realise there were shortcomings in our response, and I acknowledge my lack of awareness regarding human rights. I feel deeply the weight of my responsibility for undermining trust in the media.”

Star turned ‘sexual predator’

Masahiro Nakai, a former member of the 1980s boy band SMAP, retired last week from the entertainment business after admitting paying 90 million yen (£470,000) to a female Fuji TV employee in her 20s over a “problem” between them in 2023. In interviews with weekly magazines, the woman has said that he forced himself on her without her consent.

It occurred after a dinner in June 2023, which was supposed to have included other people from the broadcaster. In the end, though, the other participants failed to appear, leaving the woman alone with Nakai.

• The Times view: Fuji TV shows two different versions of how not to apologise

The implication of the coverage was that other employees engineered a situation in which Nakai would be left alone to take advantage of the woman’s junior status to assault her. It has raised questions about the Japanese television industry in general.

“The focus of the scandal has already outgrown Nakai’s specific case and is spreading to the broader topic of Fuji TV’s corporate culture,” wrote the Asahi newspaper.

“Was it a customary practice in some Fuji TV sections for employees to sexually exploit women as a means of wining and dining? Industry officials should now heighten their sensitivity to human rights, reflect on any evil practices and eliminate the problems so the next generation can work in those circles with optimism.”

Long questions and a delayed apology

Participants in the press conference shouted at the executives and gave long speeches on subjects with little direct relation to the case.

The composure of the Fuji executives aroused sympathy on social media, as well as as among those in the room.

“Of course, it is a journalist’s right and duty to ask tough questions,” wrote Karin Kaneko of the Japan Times. “But is it humane to subject men in their seventies — as powerful as they may be — to constant, angry questions and lectures for ten and a half hours with only one 15-minute break?”

Apology is a feature of life in Japan, sometimes over matters that would be regarded as trivial elsewhere, such as a train running a minute or two late. When the matter is serious, and compromises the reputation of a company, displays of contrition can be extravagant.

One of the most spectacular corporate apologies followed the bankruptcy in 1997 of Yamaichi Securities, after a massive accounting fraud. Its president Shohei Nozawa appeared at a press conference at which he bowed deeply, wept and shouted: “It is management’s fault, and not the rank and file’s fault!”

Remarkably, Fuji’s ten-hour press conference is not a world record. That seems to belong to President Zelensky of Ukraine, who spoke to reporters for 14 hours in 2019.