Japanese TV host Masahiro Nakai, one of the country's most recognisable faces on television, announced on Thursday that he was retiring after a sexual assault allegation that has rocked the country's entertainment industry. Nakai, who works for Fuji Television, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a 2023 dinner party held by staff.

Masahiro Nakai, one of Japan’s top TV hosts and a former pop star, said Thursday he was retiring to take responsibility over sexual assault allegations that are part of a wave roiling Japan's entertainment industry and have triggered an avalanche of lost advertising at one of the networks where he worked.