TOKYO (AP) — 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.

Masahiro Nakai, a popular TV host who was a member of the former pop group SMAP and is embroiled in a sexual misconduct scandal, said

A growing number of top brands are pulling adverts from major Japanese broadcaster Fuji Television over sexual misconduct allegations against a host and

Japanese TV network Fuji faces mass advertiser exodus after allegations of covering up sexual assault claims against host Masahiro Nakai of SMAP fame.

Dozens of major Japanese companies have pulled their commercials from broadcaster Fuji Television amid allegations company officials tried to cover up a sex scandal involving one of the country’s most

Major sponsors such as carmakers Nissan and Toyota and the owner of 7-Eleven announced they were pulling ads from Fuji TV over the scandal.