Nippon TV Chairman and CEO Ujiie Seiichiro (77) has stepped down from his post in an industry self-regulatory body following a scandal that has hit his station. An unnamed “Nitere” producer was found to have bribed viewers in order to manipulate TV ratings. The 41-year old producer found out the identities of several households used by Video Research Ltd. He was able to abuse this information because it is the only TV ratings company in the country. He paid a research company ¥100,000 for information on each household and then money to the viewers to watch specific programs over a period of more than a year. The amount is said to have been ¥5-10,000 per program in the form of gift certificates.