News Johnny Kitagawa: Japan’s J-pop predator

Lothor said:

Leaving aside the moral question on sex with minors (I know it hasn't always been morally verboten but circumstances were different then - these days people grow up more slowly, particularly in Japan), the unanimous testimony of the men who came forward was of a clear tacit understanding that sexual acts with Kitagawa were necessary for them to make it in the industry. This is all about abuse of power and non-consensual sexual relationships, and cannot be condoned under any circumstances, be it 20th century Japan or Ancient Rome.

I find your comparisons with Britain and America a bit baffling to be honest. Not once during this discussion have I tried to compare the overall level of problems in the countries - in fact, I think Japan's society is currently functioning far better than Britain's (I'm not discussing America because I'm not American) and I don't see Japan as a 'den of debauchery'. My point is that certain aspects of its society allow abuse to remain unchecked, and if its method of social control is shame, then shame it has to be.

Click to expand...

Master of Time said:

But don't try and tell me the guy had some other options. He had none, so he did this. Its not what I want. I am just telling you what I see.

Click to expand...

Lothor said:

but there's not really any point in doing so if we don't have any control over what we do.

Click to expand...

I'm going to end this conversation

Click to expand...

The third-party team of experts, appointed by the talent agency in late May, interviewed 41 people for the report and concluded that Johnny Kitagawa started sexually abusing boys in the 1950s and then at his agency from the 1970s to the 2010s. The team is comprised of three experts: former prosecutor-general Makoto Hayashi, psychiatrist Nozomu Asukai, and child trauma specialist Azusa Saito, along with six lawyers from the law firm Anderson Mori & Tomotsune to help with the investigation. "Johnny's & Associates did not take appropriate actions, such as investigating whether the sexual abuse (allegations) against Johnny (Kitagawa) were true or not," despite various news reports and court cases, the report said. "Johnny's & Associates had a serious problem of lacking governance."

Click to expand...

The report claimed that Julie Keiko must have known when she was appointed director, yet did nothing about the issue, thus neglecting her duty. "Overall, we found the statement (by Fujishima) that she 'didn't know' at the time to be a lie," Hayashi said, explaining how the experts came to such a conclusion after conducting hearings with both Fujishima and the victims.

Click to expand...

Julie Keiko Fujishima, Kitagawa's niece, will be succeeded by actor Noriyuki Higashiyama, who has been employed by Johnny & Associates since 1979, the agency told reporters in Tokyo. "On behalf of the company, and as an individual, I acknowledge [the abuse] and offer my deepest apologies to the victims," said Fujishima in a rare media appearance screened live on several terrestrial TV channels. Thursday's news conference was the first by the agency to address the scandal, following months of abuse allegations by former employees -- known as "Johnny's boys" -- prompted by a BBC documentary aired in March that thrust the issue into the global spotlight. Some of Kitagawa's victims were in elementary school during the alleged abuse, their claims ranging from the 1950s until the 2010s."

Click to expand...

Johnny & Associates, Japan's largest talent agency, has lost two major advertising clients after being rocked by sex abuse allegations, and could lose more as companies weigh the risks of continuing to be associated with the star factory. [...] Asahi has employed boy band V6 member Junichi Okada and actor Toma Ikuta in beer commercials and pop group Arashi members Sho Sakurai and Masaki Aiba in soft drink commercials since March. Kirin said it would no longer run ads featuring idol group Johnny's West member Daiki Shigeoka and Snow Man member Ren Meguro, adding it would end their contracts when they expire.

Click to expand...

Journalists asked him if allegations published in a book saying he massaged the crotches of boys, exposed his genitals and told them to "eat my sausage" were true.

He replied: "I don't remember clearly. Maybe it happened, maybe it didn't. I have trouble remembering."

Click to expand...

Majestic said:

Good Lord!

Johnny Kitagawa: J-pop agency's new boss Higashiyama also faces abuse allegations

Noriyuki Higashiyama said he could not recall if he had sexually assaulted juniors at the boyband agency.

www.bbc.com

Click to expand...

Firms including Nissan, Asahi and Suntory say they will not renew any contracts with Johnny and Associates. Toyota, which previously had a contract with one of its top stars, told the BBC it had no plans to sign any more deals featuring Johnny talents. Japan's agriculture ministry has also said it would stop hiring the stars. [...] Nissan Motors told the BBC: "Due to conduct by Johnny & Associates that contravenes our Human Rights Policy Statement, we will refrain from developing new sales promotion materials using that talent agency until further notice." The country's two other beverage giants, Suntory and Kirin, also told the BBC that they had demanded that the agency set out detailed measures to help its victims and prevent similar incidents.

Click to expand...

The existing company will be solely engaged in providing compensation for victims of Johnny Kitagawa's sexual abuse starting in November. The name will be officially changed to Smile-Up on 17 October. An external committee for victim relief set up by the agency said it has received reports from 478 sex abuse victims as of 30 September, and 325 of them are seeking compensation. "We would like to properly create a framework that stands alongside the victims," Noriyuki Higashiyama, president of Johnny & Associates, said at a news conference in Tokyo on 2 October. Yoshihiko Inohara, president of subsidiary Johnny's Island, and two lawyers also attended the news conference. Julie Keiko Fujishima was absent.

Click to expand...

The investigation was conducted in response to a report by an agency-established panel that said the "silence of mass media" was a contributing factor that allowed Kitagawa to continue sexually abusing minors for decades.

Click to expand...

The agency said the PR company presented the blacklist at a meeting two days before the news conference. The PR company specified that the session would last around two hours, and it apparently wanted agency executives to sidestep questions from specific journalists. According to the agency, Yoshihiko Inohara, president of subsidiary Johnnys' Island, raised concerns about the blacklist during the meeting.

Click to expand...

thomas said:

Two related news this week:

Nippon Television Network Corp. acknowledged "pandering" to Johnny & Associates Inc. for over two decades despite reports of sexual abuse committed by Kitagawa. They and everyone else!

Nippon TV says it ‘pandered’ to Johnny’s despite sex abuse rumors | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

www.asahi.com

Also, the public relations company that handled Johnny & Associates Inc.'s news conference on 2 October made a blacklist of journalists who were not allowed to ask questions.

Journalist ‘blacklist’ made before Johnny’s news conference | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

www.asahi.com

Click to expand...

Lothor said:

Prioritising friendly journalists at press conferences is the norm in Japan - it's certainly done by the government. The fact that the media are reporting this indicates just how much power Johnny's has lost - the media wouldn't do this if they feared any repercussions.

Click to expand...

The kisha clubs have been widely criticized, both in Japan and abroad, for encouraging an extreme type of access-driven journalism that undermines the quality of journalism in Japan by stifling criticism and turning reporters into mouthpieces for the institutions that they are supposed to cover. In one representative criticism, Jonathan Watts, the former Tokyo bureau chief for The Guardian, said the kisha club create a problem of "watchdogs becoming lapdogs" because "the kisha-club system rewards self-censorship, fosters uniformity and stifles competition." In its 2023 rankings of World Press Freedom, the non-governmental group Reporters Without Borders singled out the kisha clubs as a major reason that it ranked Japan 68th out of 180 countries, saying, "journalists find it hard put to fully play their role as democracy's watchdog." Smaller media companies, freelance journalists and foreign news organizations are often blocked from joining kisha clubs, leading to one of the most common criticisms, that the clubs foster opaque, exclusive ties between government officials and member journalists, who become overly reliant on their sources for information.

Click to expand...

The agency, still reeling from the fallout over its reckoning with founder Johnny Kitagawa's decadeslong history of alleged sexual assault and child abuse, did not factor into NHK's plans for this year's program, set to air Dec. 31 at 7:20 p.m. from NHK Hall in Tokyo. As a result, the 74th edition of the show presents a broader look at the country's music landscape and its relation to the wider world. Reflecting this year's "Borderless" theme, two of the most notable first-time participants come from South Korea: Stray Kids and Seventeen. They will appear alongside returning group Le Sserafim and the debuting trio Misamo, comprising the three Japanese members of pop group Twice.

Click to expand...