TOKYO - Fuji Media Holdings convened its annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday morning, as the company moves to rebuild governance and restore advertiser confidence after a series of scandals involving former executive Masahiro Nakai. Shareholders approved the slate of eleven directors proposed by current management, while rejecting all twelve candidates put forward by major shareholder Dalton Investments.
At the start of the meeting, current President Kanemitsu apologized for the series of issues at Fuji Television, followed by presentations of reform plans and a question-and-answer session. According to attending shareholders, some voiced that executives should bear financial responsibility, receiving strong applause.
The focus of the meeting was on the management shake-up. The company proposed replacing all current executives except for president-candidate Kenji Shimizu and appointing eleven new directors, including Takashi Sawada, former president of FamilyMart. In contrast, major shareholder Dalton Investments, an investment fund, submitted its own list of twelve candidates, including SBI Holdings chairman Yoshitaka Kitao.
Shareholders with ties to Fuji, such as entrepreneur Takafumi Horie, also attended the meeting. In the end, all eleven candidates proposed by Fuji were approved by majority vote, while none of Dalton's twelve candidates secured enough support to be appointed.
This was the first shareholders meeting since the scandal involving Masahiro Nakai surfaced, drawing heightened attention to compliance failures and a wave of advertisers suspending commercial placements, with roughly 70 percent of sponsors still withholding advertisements. According to legal expert Kasai, who analyzed the meeting, it marked the potential end of the 40-year leadership structure associated with former chairman Hieda, presenting a pivotal opportunity for the company’s renewal.
The battle between Fuji and Dalton centered on conflicting visions for the company’s future. Both sides sought to restore advertiser trust, but a key point of contention was whether to spin off Fuji’s highly profitable real estate division, which includes assets linked to its media operations such as Sankei Building. Dalton pushed for the separation, arguing it would unlock higher shareholder value and boost stock prices, a position that found favor with some shareholders, particularly individuals. In contrast, Fuji management resisted, insisting that profits from the real estate division are essential for investing in long-term content businesses like anime, drama, and overseas expansion, including merchandising characters like Ponpikkīzu and Gachapin.
The new eleven-member board approved includes five women and figures such as Wakou, the president of streaming platform TVer, and Sawada. While the appointments reflect a new direction, Kasai cautioned that it remains uncertain whether the planned reforms will be effectively implemented, noting that only future management decisions and content development will reveal the true course of Fuji Television’s revival.
Despite the strong campaign by Dalton, Kasai noted that the investment fund’s slate lacked cohesion, as most of its candidates were directly recruited by Dalton itself. The group also appeared to lose some support following a confrontational press conference held by Kitao in April, which was seen as overly aggressive by some observers and backers. Furthermore, many of the key shareholders had already made up their minds prior to the meeting through internet voting and proxy submissions, leading Fuji executives to announce at the meeting’s outset that sufficient votes had already been secured for their proposed candidates, effectively determining the outcome even before discussions began.
Kasai added that while the shareholder meeting allowed Fuji management to fulfill its duty of accountability through face-to-face dialogue, the road to restoring sponsor confidence will take time. With senior executives recently arrested over illegal online gambling activities, rebuilding corporate trust remains a serious challenge. However, he noted that many inside the company remain strongly motivated to drive reform. Ultimately, success will depend on whether the new leadership can demonstrate unity, strong governance, and deliver compelling programming that reassures both advertisers and viewers.
Source: MBS
