Nakai Masahiro, a former member of the now-defunct Japanese pop idol group SMAP, has acknowledged that he was involved in "trouble" with a woman.

The scandal surfaced in December when weekly magazines reported that the 52-year-old media celebrity got into "trouble" with the woman in 2023 and paid settlement money.

Nakai said in a statement issued on his agency's website on Thursday that he is very sorry for inconveniencing everyone.

He said he has refrained from communicating information about the case due to a non-disclosure agreement with the other party.

Nakai admitted that there was "trouble" and that he and the other party reached an out-of-court settlement and resolved the case through their representatives.

He said he believes that he sincerely faced and responded to the other party's proposal in reaching the resolution. He categorically denied some media reports that he had inflicted violence in the incident.

Nakai said that reaching the settlement has allowed him to continue his activities in the showbiz industry unimpeded. He said that the trouble was all due to his shortcomings and he apologizes from the bottom of his heart.

The scandal has hit Japan's TV industry where Nakai regularly appears on several programs. Broadcasters suspended airing some shows hosted by him, while others edited him out of programs.

NHK said that Nakai does not regularly appear on its channels and that he is currently not scheduled to appear in any of the programs.

SMAP built a huge fan base in Japan, China, other parts of Asia and elsewhere before disbanding in 2016.