Head of Johnny & Associates Resigns After Founder’s Sexual Abuse Scandal
In a shocking turn of events, Julie K Fujishima, the head of Johnny & Associates, Japan’s top pop agency, has announced her resignation. This comes after she admitted that her late uncle, Johnny Kitagawa, the founder of the company, had sexually abused minors for years. The announcement was made during a news conference on Thursday, where Fujishima also revealed that the company would compensate the victims of her uncle’s abuse.
This is the first time the agency has addressed the media about the scandal, which gained international attention after being highlighted in a BBC documentary earlier this year. The issue came back into the spotlight in April when a former star trainee came forward with allegations of abuse against Kitagawa, which prompted an independent investigation commissioned by the agency.
The investigation, which concluded just a week before Fujishima’s resignation, interviewed 41 people, including victims and other company employees. The expert panel determined that Kitagawa had “repeatedly committed sexual assault over a long period of time” from the 1950s to the mid-2010s. Most of the victims were backup dancers known as “Johnny’s Juniors,” and the abuse took place at various locations, including Kitagawa’s home and the company’s training camps.
The panel also revealed that the abuse was able to continue for so long because Johnny & Associates was a family-run business, where the founders held outsized power and faced little accountability. Mary Kitagawa, Johnny’s older sister and the former president of the agency, was aware of the abuse but did not take action.
As Fujishima steps down, she will be replaced by Noriyuki Higashiyama, one of the company’s performers who has been with the agency for nearly 40 years. Higashiyama has vowed to implement measures to prevent future abuse and sincerely compensate the victims.
Johnny Kitagawa, a powerful figure in the media and entertainment industries, headed Japan’s biggest talent agency for many years. His influence and power made individuals fearful of losing their careers if they did not comply with his demands. Allegations against Kitagawa date back decades, with previous accounts published in a Japanese magazine in 1999. However, he was never charged, and he denied all accusations during his lifetime.
With Fujishima’s resignation and Higashiyama taking the reins, Johnny & Associates aims to address the past and prevent similar instances of abuse in the future. The company plans to set up a victim compensation program based on the recommendations made by the independent investigation panel.