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| Lawyer Demands Evidence Disclosure in Nakai Masahiro Case, Slams Report’s Fairness (Asahi) |
Former SMAP star Nakai Masahiro is pushing back hard against a damning investigation report issued by a third-party committee set up by Fuji TV, which had accused him of "sexual violence" in a past incident with a then-Fuji female announcer.
On 12 May, Nakai’s lawyer released a strongly worded statement denying that any "generally imagined violent or forced sexual acts" ever took place.
The legal team is now demanding that the committee disclose all relevant evidence, stating it’s necessary to protect Nakai’s human rights and restore his honour.
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The investigation report published by Fuji TV’s third-party committee. (Asahi Shimbun) |
Apparently, Nakai Masahiro had participated in a six-hour hearing with the committee back on 9 March, fully cooperating and speaking openly.
But according to his lawyer, hardly any of Nakai’s testimony made it into the final report, which was made public at the end of March.
Instead, they claim the findings leaned heavily on one-sided hearsay, ignoring his actual statements.
The report had labelled the situation between Nakai Masahiro and the woman as "sexual violence within the context of work-related duties" — a serious accusation that shocked many.
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The woman involved had reportedly shown willingness to waive the confidentiality clause from a prior settlement, but the report claimed Nakai didn’t agree to it.
However, his lawyer disputes this, saying it was Nakai who initially proposed dropping the confidentiality, but the committee responded saying what happened in the private room wasn’t even the focus of the investigation.
His side is now accusing the third-party panel of lacking neutrality and fairness, and of causing massive damage to Nakai’s reputation and social standing by using loaded language — specifically criticising the uncritical use of the term "sexual violence", which in Japanese carries extremely severe and aggressive connotations.
They argue the committee relied on the WHO’s broader, more clinical definition of the term, without considering how it would be interpreted publicly.中居正広氏側、フジ第三者委の報告書に反論 性暴力認定は「問題」https://t.co/PmdqjwDzgc
— 横山英俊『天才か反逆者か』 (@yokoyama_rc) May 12, 2025
中居くんの人権のために、代理人弁護士、第三者委に証拠を求める。
中居さんは自分の名誉を守る為にも、記者会見を開くべき。… pic.twitter.com/HzGedvoF9Z
Nakai had already acknowledged there was a troubling incident and apologised, announcing his retirement from the entertainment world shortly after.
But now, his legal team is on the offensive, stressing that no violent or coercive sexual act was confirmed during their own deep dive into the case, and that the committee’s report misses the mark badly.
They’ve now formally asked for clarification, proof of how conclusions were drawn, and an explanation of why Nakai’s hours-long testimony was essentially ignored.
As it stands, the former national idol seems determined to fight back and clear his name — not just for himself, but for the public’s right to a fair process.