The head of Japan’s biggest pop talent agency, Johnny and Associates, has resigned after admitting to sexual abuse by the company’s late founder, Johnny Kitagawa.
Julie Fujishima resigned on Thursday and offered a public apology to her uncle’s victims.
His departure comes a week after investigators discovered that Kitagawa abused hundreds of minors and young people over six decades, when he headed the agency that produced many popular youth gangs in the Asian country.
A documentary on the abuses, released this year by the BBC, led more victims to denounce their cases.
Johnny Kitagawa died in 2019. He has always denied wrongdoing and has never faced charges.
On Thursday, his niece and outgoing CEO of the company, Julie Fujishima, acknowledged for the first time that there had been abuse.
“Both the agency itself and I personally acknowledge that sexual abuse by Johnny Kitagawa occurred,” he said.
“I apologize to his victims with all my heart.”
The reaction of the victims
Japanese media showed some of the victims following the press conference, some visibly upset.
At a press conference in Tokyo after Fujishima spoke, some of Kitagawa’s victims said they thought his comments had been sincere and helpful, but there was still a long way to go.
“I think she gave us a live message that included a message of support, that she was well prepared in her own words and that she didn’t just read from a script,” said Junya Hiramoto, head of the Johnny Sexual Assault Victims Association. .
Yukihiro Oshima of the association added: “I think they sincerely apologized, but that doesn’t mean that this has healed me. Out of 100, I would say it has made a 10% difference.”
Another man said he had nothing to be ashamed of. “I have learned that if you decide to act, you can change things. We don’t have to walk looking down, we can look forward.”
Japan’s “Weinstein”
The scandal parallels in scale and impact on the industry that of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, who was convicted of rape and sexual assault.
Kitagawa was arguably the most influential and powerful figure in Japan’s entertainment industry. His agency was the gateway to stardom for many young people over the years.
Several victims said in the BBC documentary Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop that they thought their careers would suffer if they did not comply with Kitagawa’s sexual demands.
For years there had been rumors and some media reports about his abuse, but that did not produce any concrete action.
The pop mogul never faced criminal prosecution and continued to recruit teenagers until his death four years ago, aged 87.
His death was a national event. Even the prime minister at the time sent condolences from him.
And while some of the allegations were proven in civil court while he was alive, Kitagawa successfully sued for defamation on at least one occasion. Most of the mainstream Japanese media also failed to cover the allegations for decades, prompting accusations of a cover-up.
Then, last March, the BBC investigation gave a detailed account of the abuses committed by Kitagawa, sparking debate across Japan and calls for a full investigation. Thousands of J-pop fans also signed a petition pressing for the agency to be investigated.
decades of abuse
The documentary features the allegations of victims who worked for the agency that only recruits teenage males. It showed a pattern of exploitation and abuse committed in the luxurious residences of Kitagawa. Often this was witnessed by other minors.
The BBC’s coverage led to more victims coming forward, including former Japanese pop star Kauan Okamoto, who said Kitagawa had abused him for four years, when he was 15.
Public pressure led the agency to launch its own independent investigation. The panel, made up of former attorney general Makoto Hayashi, a psychiatrist and a clinical psychologist, interviewed 41 people, including 23 victims and Julie Fujishima.
In the final report released last week, they noted that Kitagawa began sexually abusing children from the 1950s to the 2010s.
They also discovered that the agency’s family management had allowed the abuse to persist for decades. Investigators said Julie Fujishima, a longtime executive at the firm, did not address the allegations even though she knew about them.
At first, Fujishima opposed an independent investigation. In May, he apologized to the victims, but he stopped short of acknowledging that the allegations were true and he claimed not to have known of his uncle’s actions at the time.
This Thursday he named Noriyuki Higashiyama, a well-known name on Japanese television, as his successor. The 56-year-old was also one of the first talents recruited by Johnny and Associates.
Higashiyama said he had never been a victim of Kitagawa’s abuse, but was aware of the rumours.
“I couldn’t and I didn’t do anything about it,” he declared at the press conference.
He also acknowledged public calls for the agency’s name to be changed, but said no immediate action would be taken.
At the press conference there was talk of a structural change and many analysts believe the organization is likely to rectify, but it is not clear what that change will look like or how the agency’s talent will be managed and protected.
There are also big question marks over the future of Johnny and Associates as a brand, which has been synonymous with fame and glamor for decades and has now fallen seriously and publicly out of favor.
With additional reporting by Kelly Ng and Frances Mao
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BBC-NEWS-SRC: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/cprw40qxw2po, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-09-07 17:10:07
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