Executives at Japan`s Fuji TV and parent firm resign over a sex scandal linked to a former star

TOKYO (AP) — The president and chairperson of Japanese network Fuji Television have resigned over a widening sex assault scandal linked to one of Japan's top TV celebrities.

The scandal centers on Masahiro Nakai, a former leader of Japan’s once-hugely popular boy band SMAP, and his costly settlement with a woman over the alleged sex assault at a 2023 dinner party.

The allegations surfaced in magazine articles in December and have since triggered claims of systematic cover-ups by Fuji TV executives. The public outrage over the lack of transparency and explanation at the network's earlier news conference this month have led to an avalanche of advertising losses at Fuji, one of the networks where Nakai worked.

Fuji Television Network President Koichi Minato and other company officials said Monday the case was mishandled and possibly had violated the woman’s human rights. But they didn’t provide new details, citing her privacy as well as the third-party investigation, during the more than 10-hour news conference while they at times faced yelling by frustrated reporters demanding clarifications.

“We are very sorry that we mishandled the case because of our lack of awareness about human rights and corporate governance ... and as a result our responses to the involved woman were inadequate,” Minato said. “We are very sorry to have destroyed our credibility.”

He said it was handled as an “extraordinary” case requiring maximum confidentiality and sensitivity for the woman's mental health and was shared by a small group of officials. The company had continued allowing Nakai to appear on Fuji shows for a year and six months, he said, but denied covering up the case because it involved a big star.

Minato said he did not think what happened was sexual assault and that the case was not reported to the company’s compliance office until the magazine report came out. The third-party investigation report is due in March.

He denied a Fuji TV employee’s involvement in that case but said allegations that the employee had previously organized barbecue and other parties for Nakai needed to be investigated. He said he believed the employee's innocence based on interviews only by him and Nakai and without asking the woman.

Fuji officials also acknowledged that female announcers and other female employees have in the past participated at parties for male stars, talent agency executives and sponsors, though they denied any sexual services. Minato said he believed top officials were complacent about outdated gender roles and they now need to “update their mindset.”

Shukan Bunshun weekly, one of the magazines that exposed the scandal, at first erroneously reported that the woman was invited by a Fuji TV employee to the party but nobody but her showed up, leaving her alone with Nakai. The magazine later apologized and clarified that Nakai invited her, but said it stood by its allegation that the employee has previously organized parties for the TV host.

It also alleged that Fuji TV has long exploited its female announcers to entertain stars like Nakai.

In addition to Minato's resignation, board chairperson Shuji Kanoh resigned from his position prior to the news conference, officials said.

Nakai last Thursday announced his retirement to take responsibility for the trouble and business losses. He had earlier denied any violence or involvement of a third party.

A series of sexual assault allegations have surfaced in recent years in Japan's entertainment industry, in what is seen as a delayed #MeToo movement that began in Western nations in the 2010s. The cases include the abuse of hundreds of boys and young men by late talent mogul Johnny Kitagawa, whose now-defunct agency Johnny & Associates managed many boy bands, including the one to which Nakai belonged, SMAP.

Koichi Minato, President and CEO of Fuji Television Network, answers questions during a press conference at Fuji Television headquarter in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Koichi Minato, President and CEO of Fuji Television Network, answers a question during a news conference at the Fuji Television headquarters in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Koichi Minato, president and CEO of Fuji Television Network, left, and Shuji Kano, Fuji Media Holdings COB, announce their resignation during a news conference at the Fuji Television headquarters in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Kenji Shimizu, newly appointed president and CEO of Fuji Television Network, answers a question during a news conference at the Fuji Television headquarters in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Kenji Shimizu, newly-appointed president and CEO of Fuji Television Network, speaks during a news conference at the Fuji Television headquarters in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Koichi Minato, president and CEO of Fuji Television Network, speaks during a news conference at the Fuji Television headquarters in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Shuji Kano, Fuji Media Holdings COB, answers a question during a news conference at the Fuji Television headquarters in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Ryunosuke Endo, vice chairman of the Board of Fuji Television Network, listens to a question during a news conference at the Fuji Television headquarters in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

From left, Koichi Minato, President and CEO of Fuji Television Network, and Shuji Kano, Fuji Media Holdings COB, arrive for a press conference at Fuji Television headquarter in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Ryunosuke Endo, from left, vice chairman of the Board of Fuji Television Network, Koichi Minato, president and CEO of Fuji Television Network, Shuji Kano, Fuji Media Holdings COB, Osamu Kanemitsu, president and CEO of Fuji Media Holdings, bow during a news conference at the Fuji Television headquarters in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Members of media outlets wait for the start of a news conference which will be held by senior officials from Fuji Television and its parent company at the Fuji Television headquarter in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person takes a photo of the FCG building, holding the Fuji Television and its parent company Fuji Media Holdings, in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

From left, Kenji Shimizu, newly appointed president and CEO of Fuji Television Network, Ryunosuke Endo, vice chairman of the Board of Fuji Television Network, and Koichi Minato, outgoing president and CEO of Fuji Television Network, attend a news conference at the Fuji Television headquarters in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Osamu Kanemitsu, president and CEO of Fuji Media Holdings, answers a question during a news conference at the Fuji Television headquarters in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Koichi Minato, President and CEO of Fuji Television Network, answers a question during a news conference at the Fuji Television headquarters in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Koichi Minato, president and CEO of Fuji Television Network, left, and Shuji Kano, Fuji Media Holdings COB, announce their resignation during a news conference at the Fuji Television headquarters in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

NEW YORK (AP) — Reviving a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, a move that could save Americans tens of billions of dollars but drew immediate opposition from an industry that has been in his corner.

Trump was not clear in his social media post Friday night whether a cap might take effect through executive action or legislation, though one Republican senator said he had spoken with the president and would work on a bill with his “full support.” Trump said he hoped it would be in place Jan. 20, one year after he took office.

Strong opposition is certain from Wall Street in addition to the credit card companies, which donated heavily to his 2024 campaign and have supported Trump's second-term agenda. Banks are making the argument that such a plan would most hurt poor people, at a time of economic concern, by curtailing or eliminating credit lines, driving them to high-cost alternatives like payday loans or pawnshops.

“We will no longer let the American Public be ripped off by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Researchers who studied Trump’s campaign pledge after it was first announced found that Americans would save roughly $100 billion in interest a year if credit card rates were capped at 10%. The same researchers found that while the credit card industry would take a major hit, it would still be profitable, although credit card rewards and other perks might be scaled back.

About 195 million people in the United States had credit cards in 2024 and were assessed $160 billion in interest charges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says. Americans are now carrying more credit card debt than ever, to the tune of about $1.23 trillion, according to figures from the New York Federal Reserve for the third quarter last year.

Further, Americans are paying, on average, between 19.65% and 21.5% in interest on credit cards according to the Federal Reserve and other industry tracking sources. That has come down in the past year as the central bank lowered benchmark rates, but is near the highs since federal regulators started tracking credit card rates in the mid-1990s. That’s significantly higher than a decade ago, when the average credit card interest rate was roughly 12%.

The Republican administration has proved particularly friendly until now to the credit card industry.

Capital One got little resistance from the White House when it finalized its purchase and merger with Discover Financial in early 2025, a deal that created the nation’s largest credit card company. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is largely tasked with going after credit card companies for alleged wrongdoing, has been largely nonfunctional since Trump took office.

In a joint statement, the banking industry was opposed to Trump's proposal.

“If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives," the American Bankers Association and allied groups said.

Bank lobbyists have long argued that lowering interest rates on their credit card products would require the banks to lend less to high-risk borrowers. When Congress enacted a cap on the fee that stores pay large banks when customers use a debit card, banks responded by removing all rewards and perks from those cards. Debit card rewards only recently have trickled back into consumers' hands. For example, United Airlines now has a debit card that gives miles with purchases.

The U.S. already places interest rate caps on some financial products and for some demographics. The Military Lending Act makes it illegal to charge active-duty service members more than 36% for any financial product. The national regulator for credit unions has capped interest rates on credit union credit cards at 18%.

Credit card companies earn three streams of revenue from their products: fees charged to merchants, fees charged to customers and the interest charged on balances. The argument from some researchers and left-leaning policymakers is that the banks earn enough revenue from merchants to keep them profitable if interest rates were capped.

"A 10% credit card interest cap would save Americans $100 billion a year without causing massive account closures, as banks claim. That’s because the few large banks that dominate the credit card market are making absolutely massive profits on customers at all income levels," said Brian Shearer, director of competition and regulatory policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, who wrote the research on the industry's impact of Trump's proposal last year.

There are some historic examples that interest rate caps do cut off the less creditworthy to financial products because banks are not able to price risk correctly. Arkansas has a strictly enforced interest rate cap of 17% and evidence points to the poor and less creditworthy being cut out of consumer credit markets in the state. Shearer's research showed that an interest rate cap of 10% would likely result in banks lending less to those with credit scores below 600.

The White House did not respond to questions about how the president seeks to cap the rate or whether he has spoken with credit card companies about the idea.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said he talked with Trump on Friday night, said the effort is meant to “lower costs for American families and to reign in greedy credit card companies who have been ripping off hardworking Americans for too long."

Legislation in both the House and the Senate would do what Trump is seeking.

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., released a plan in February that would immediately cap interest rates at 10% for five years, hoping to use Trump’s campaign promise to build momentum for their measure.

Hours before Trump's post, Sanders said that the president, rather than working to cap interest rates, had taken steps to deregulate big banks that allowed them to charge much higher credit card fees.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have proposed similar legislation. Ocasio-Cortez is a frequent political target of Trump, while Luna is a close ally of the president.

Seung Min Kim reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, Jan. 9, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FILE - Visa and Mastercard credit cards are shown in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)