The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that a middle-aged former boy-band star turned top television host in Japan is alleged to have had paid hush money to a woman for unspecified wrongdoing. A New York Times dispatch says that sexual assault is suspected, stirring a wave of public outrage not only toward the ex-singer but also his employer, a major TV broadcaster, for how it handled the matter. The man at the centre of the controversy announced his retirement, but the episode had already turned into a moment of reckoning. An international investor has criticized the company, Fuji Television, and Japan's biggest corporate advertisers have lined up to boycott it. Some 75 companies, including Toyota, SoftBank and the local operator of McDonald's, have pulled ads and sponsorships. Not a single commercial now appears on the station's programming. Tens of millions of dollars in revenue are at stake as indignant chief executive officers have called on Fuji TV to address the issue. "We will cease placing advertisements with the company until a thorough investigation is conducted, the facts are clarified and appropriate action is taken," Takeshi Minakata, president of the drinks maker Kirin, said in a statement.