Japanese TV host and ex-pop star Masahiro Nakai retires after sex assault claim

Masahiro Nakai in 2011 (Jin Liangkuai/Xinhua via AP)

Masahiro Nakai, one of Japan’s top TV hosts and a former pop star, has said he is retiring to take responsibility over sexual assault allegations that are part of a wave rocking Japan’s entertainment industry.

The claims have triggered an avalanche of lost advertising at one of the networks where he worked.