Tokyo, Mar 27 (EFE).- The veteran chairman of Japanese media conglomerate Fuji Media, Hisashi Hieda, stepped down from his post Thursday following a sex scandal involving one of the network's hosts.

Hieda also stepped down from his position as an executive managing adviser to Fuji Television, effective Thursday, the conglomerate announced.

The company will drastically review its management structure and reduce the number of directors.

In a statement, the company said that although it had in place an internal human rights policy and system, following the recent incident at Fuji TV it was considering measures to strengthen them.

The company also said that an investigation by an independent committee was underway and would conclude by the end of March.

Following the findings of that probe, more effective measures would be implemented to strengthen the system, the company added.

Hieda, 87, served as a chairman and adviser to Fuji Media and Fuji Television for 41 years and still wielded significant influence over the group's management.

His resignation comes in response to a sex scandal involving popular former pop star Masahiro Nakai - a presenter for the network until he retired - who allegedly assaulted a woman at a private dinner.

According to several local media reports last year, Nakai attended a dinner organized by Fuji TV in June 2023, where he ended up alone with the woman - also a host at the company -, and engaged in an non-consensual sexual act with her.

The woman was later compensated by the former singer in an out-of-court settlement of 90 million yen ($596,482) to prevent the case from going to court.

The victim required medical attention and a long recovery period after the incident, according to network officials.

The Fuji TV case has had a profound social impact in Japan because of its focus on Nakai, a beloved figure in the country as a member of the former, successful pop group SMAP (1988-2016) who became a presenter, and because of Fuji TV's alleged role in the incident and its attempts to cover it up. EFE

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