Fuji Media Holdings Inc. on Friday reported a net loss of 20.13 billion yen ($138 million) for the last fiscal year, its first red ink since the firm was listed in 1997, amid a sexual misconduct scandal involving famed former TV host Masahiro Nakai.
The loss in the year ended March 31 was a sharp swing from a net profit of 37.08 billion yen a year earlier.
Its Fuji Television Network Inc. subsidiary, criticized for its response to the scandal, posted a net loss of 32.8 billion yen in the last fiscal year, as its advertisement revenue dropped around 16 percent.
In December last year, weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun reported Nakai, best known as a member of the now-defunct pop group SMAP, engaged in nonconsensual sexual activity and paid a 90 million yen out-of-court settlement to a woman who met him for a dinner in June 2023.
Fuji TV has admitted it was aware of some "trouble" between Nakai and the woman, a network employee who regularly appeared on its programs, but it did not respond immediately out of respect for her wish to keep the matter discreet and return to work.
The scandal led to the resignation of longtime Fuji Media executive Hisashi Hieda from the company's management advisory panel in February, with a third-party panel concluding that the assault had occurred amid a culture of harassment at the network.
Fuji Media expects a turnaround for fiscal 2025 to a net profit of 10 billion yen.
==Kyodo
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