Last week, Nakai Masahiro, formerly of nationally beloved boy band SMAP, officially ended his career in the wake of a sexual assault scandal. While the majority of fans are disappointed in Nakai, a subset have taken to attacking Japan’s press – and even the alleged victim.
Others, meanwhile, are consoling themselves with a wild conspiracy theory: that Nakai Masahiro isn’t actually Nakai Masahiro.
Nakai found himself embroiled in scandal after it came out that he had reached a 900 million yen (USD $575K) settlement with a woman who worked at Fuji TV. Magazines such as Shukan Bunshun and Sponichi Annex reported the eye-watering sum was to resolve an allegation that he had sexually assaulted her after a dinner party.
Nakai tried to pass the matter off as “settled.” However, fans, TV stations, and the general public didn’t seem to think a potential sexual assault is something a star should be allowed to buy their way out of. Stations canceled Nakai’s programs to the point he had little choice but to retire.
The scandal still threatens the future of Fuji TV, as it came out that Fuji employees may have been involved in pressuring multiple female employees to “entertain” stars like Nakai. The company has already lost half of its advertisers. (We initially reported they had lost 50; it’s since grown to over 75.)
The Nakai I know would never do this!
General public reaction – and fan reaction – to Nakai’s departure seem to be “good riddance.” However, some fans maintain that it’s papers like Bunshun and Sponichi that are the problem.
“Nakai admitted to the trouble [i.e., alleged sexual assault] and engaged with the woman,” complained one poster on X in a popular tweet. “The result of this forthright attitude is that he settled with her and supposedly resolved things. But that sincerity and his honest personality backfired. Uninvolved outsiders twisted the truth of the settlement and, using sheer speculation, became judge, jury, and executioner. There’s nothing just about that. You lot are the aggressors.”
Some say the Nakai story is a distraction from “real” stories, such as Japan loosening visa restrictions for wealthy Chinese tourists. Still others have swarmed the Instagram account of the woman rumored to be Nakai’s victim and have pilloried her with hate. (No, I won’t be printing her name. Let her live in peace, people.)
But there’s an even wilder set of fans who think they’ve found a “simpler” explanation.
Nakai was sick and out of the public limelight from November 2022 until January 2023 due to what Huffingpost Post JP and others reported as a case of acute appendicitis. During this time, papers like Sponichi reported on social media speculation that Nakai had died and his handlers were covering it up.
The conspiracy theory, as described by Nikkan Gendai, holds that “Nakai” has kept a low profile since that time. The alleged assault took place in June 2023, which lines up with conspiracy theorist’s hopes that the noble man they’ve created in their minds has been replaced by a monstrous body double.
This ridiculous conspiracy theory is, of course, just that. But it shows the lengths that some fans will go to reject the reality in front of their eyes. And it shows how some people will prioritize their love for their oshi over concern for a victim of sexual abuse.
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