TOKYO: On Thursday, the president of Japan’s largest and most successful boyband agency publicly acknowledged that its late founder had sexually abused young aspiring stars.
This revelation surfaced decades after initial allegations emerged.
Johnny Kitagawa, who passed away at the age of 87 in 2019, was the mastermind behind the creation of iconic J-pop mega-groups such as SMAP, TOKIO, and Arashi, which garnered a massive fan following across Asia.
Reports of Kitagawa’s alleged abuse of young men aspiring to become stars surfaced in Japanese media back in 1999. However, it wasn’t until this year, following a BBC documentary and brave victim testimonies, that these allegations triggered a profound reckoning within Japanese society.
Julie Fujishima, the niece of the accused music mogul who passed away in 2019, made a startling announcement during a crowded press conference in Tokyo. She revealed that both she and the agency acknowledged the occurrence of sexual abuse by Johnny Kitagawa.
Taking responsibility for the agency’s past actions, she stated, “I apologize to his victims from the bottom of my heart, and I take this matter very seriously.”
Fujishima, aged 57, also disclosed her decision to step down as the head of Johnny & Associates, effective immediately. She named singer and actor Noriyuki Higashiyama, a long-standing member of the talent agency, as her successor.
Higashiyama, aged 56, recognized the monumental task of rebuilding trust, stating, “It will take an enormous amount of time before we can regain trust. I will dedicate the rest of my life to addressing this problem.”
Fujishima further expressed her commitment to staying within the agency’s leadership to assist in “compensating” victims, emphasizing the agency’s determination to address the consequences of the abuse.
