It was already a given that the nation’s eyes would be fixed on Fuji TV’s news conference on Monday.

Who would have thought that the issue of a reportedly secret ¥90 million settlement paid to a woman by one of Japan’s top TV celebrities and boy band star — the fallen and now-retired Masahiro Nakai — would have spawned such chaos?

But little did I know that I was about to sit through the longest news conference I have ever experienced, perhaps will ever experience in my life — 10 hours and 23 minutes.