TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A third-party panel probing Fuji Television Network Inc. and its handling of a scandal involving famous former TV host Masahiro Nakai has concluded he sexually assaulted a female employee amid a culture of harassment at the major Japanese network, a report showed Monday.

Fuji TV has been mired in scandal over its response to the case, after a weekly magazine in December reported Nakai engaged in nonconsensual sexual activity and paid a 90 million yen ($600,000) out-of-court settlement to the woman who met him for a dinner in June 2023.

Many companies pulled their advertisements from the network after it faced criticism for its response. Nakai continued to appear in shows for around a year and a half even after senior executives including then President Koichi Minato were aware of the case.

The independent committee was established by the company and its parent Fuji Media Holdings Inc. in mid-January and made up of three lawyers.

It said a "serious infringement of human rights occurred," and described the incident involving the woman, who was an announcer at the company, as sexual violence "occurring as an extension of her job."

The panel was not in a position to say whether Nakai's actions constituted a criminal case, its head Akira Takeuchi said in a press conference.

According to their findings, the woman said she agreed to meet Nakai for dinner on the assumption others would be present. When it later became clear they would be meeting alone at his home, she said she felt unable to cancel over concerns it could have a negative impact on her career.

The report said days later she told doctors at work about the incident, and was hospitalized for around two months until September 2023, during which she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She had aimed to return to work, but in August 2024 she left the company.

It also showed that Nakai asked a Fuji TV employee to give the victim 1 million yen as consolation money while she was hospitalized. The report said she refused to take the money from the employee and that the employee's action "could be evaluated as a form of secondary abuse."

Nakai, who rose to prominence as a member of the now-defunct pop group SMAP, was a famous television host before retiring from showbusiness over the scandal in January.

"Owing to Nakai's position as major talent for Fuji TV," there was an "overwhelming difference in authority (between him and the woman)," the panel said.

The panel said it found no evidence that an employee at the firm had arranged the meeting between the two, as first reported and then later retracted by a weekly magazine.

But Takeuchi told reporters there was a "persistent culture of sexual harassment at Fuji TV."

The report said the panel had heard of two other cases of female staff being left alone with performers at the company, as well as four other sexual harassment cases involving senior employees who have since left the firm.

The panel also heard Fuji TV host Osamu Sorimachi had, on separate occasions, invited two junior female staff members to dinner and then berated them when they rejected the offer. Following the report's publication, he canceled his appearance later that evening on his regular news program.

Regarding the TV station's handling of Nakai's case, the report said it "shows a low understanding of sexual violence and human-rights awareness," and that ex-president Minato treated the case as "a man-woman problem."

Minato told reporters in January that senior management did not share details of the incident with its compliance department to prioritize the woman's physical and mental recovery and protect her privacy. He resigned as president days later.

Minato's successor, President Kenji Shimizu, expressed contrition toward the woman at a press conference following the report's release, saying that "as a company we are acutely aware of our responsibility."

"Once we have confirmed the facts, we will take strict, prompt action against those involved. We must not hesitate to also make bold reforms to our corporate culture," he said.

As part of changes to Fuji TV's executive structure, the firm said Thursday its longtime executive managing adviser Hisashi Hieda, who had a strong influence on its management, has stepped down.