The Problem with Japanese TV

This:

Man gets drunk, takes off his clothes off, and howls at the moon normally doesn't warrant any coverage on the news, but since it's Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, member of SMAP, the media goes into a frenzy. Here we have Fuji TV recounting the story with a scale model of the neighborhood just in case viewers have trouble visualizing the park Kusanagi was in.

Reporting on celebrities and their scandals is low-hanging fruit for the media in Japan. Despite the distinctive lack of talent among Japan's TV personalities, the incident reveals the close relationship those personalities have with media outlets and their sponsors:

The reaction from private and public sponsors was immediate. Toyota Motor Corp. and Procter & Gamble responded by halting all ads featuring the pop star, even his frequent TV commercials.

The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, which recruited Kusanagi to promote the nationwide conversion to terrestrial digital broadcasting, said it will immediately stop distributing flyers and posters with Kusanagi in them.

"It's embarrassing. He is a character who is calling for public understanding of the cancellation of analog broadcasting, which will burden the people. I have no choice but to think he is a disgusting person," communications minister Kunio Hatoyama angrily told reporters.

Likewise, the Association for Promotion of Digital Broadcasting has decided to stop airing Kusanagi commercials.

Kusanagi's agent, Johnny and Associates, later in the day released the statement: "We deeply apologize for causing lots of trouble and worry to fans and many other people."

The idol will refrain from entertainment activities for the time being, the company said Thursday evening.

Kusanagi's "crime" amounts to nothing more than bad stupid behavior, but his actions immediately elicited reactions from the government and one of Japan's largest companies, Toyota. In other words, Kusanagi's drunkenness is going to cost his sponsors a lot of money.

The TV news could spend their time reporting on and informing the public about issues that matter, but there's no bigger story for broadcasters when sponsors start pulling their ads.