Another top official of Fuji Television has expressed intent to step down around the end of March, amid an ongoing scandal involving a TV personality.

Vice Chairman Endo Ryunosuke made the announcement on Tuesday.

This came a day after President Minato Koichi and Chairman Kanoh Shuji announced their resignations at a news conference to take responsibility.

The scandal surfaced last month when weekly magazines reported that a Fuji TV employee was involved in trouble that occurred between Nakai Masahiro and a woman. Nakai is a former member of the now-disbanded pop idol group SMAP.

The parent company of the broadcaster has decided to set up an independent panel to investigate the matter, with a report expected by the end of March.

Endo told reporters that he will take responsibility for the matter after a third-party panel completes and reports on its investigations.

He joined Fuji TV in 1981 and became president in 2019, before assuming his current position in 2021. He also heads the Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association.

Endo noted that Fuji TV's new leadership is provisional, and that other executives are expected to make their decisions after fulfilling their roles.

Fuji TV's news conference on Monday was attended by 437 people from 191 media organizations, including online and overseas outlets.

The conference lasted over 10 hours, from Monday afternoon through the early hours of Tuesday.

Fuji TV broadcast the session mainly in the Kanto area, including Tokyo, without commercials.