More Revelations on Johnny Kitagawa Scandal
Since shocking sexual abuse allegations at late Japanese starmaker Johnny Kitagawa came to light in a BBC documentary four years after his death, hundreds of victims – including former teen idol Kauan Okamoto have came forward with their own accounts of sexual abuse at the hands of one of the most powerful figures in J-entertainment.
A scathing report released on August 29 by an investigative panel set up to probe the allegations has shed further light on Kitagawa’s crimes, and called for the resignation of Julie Keiko Fujishima, Kitagawa’s niece and the current president of the agency.
Panel Asks Current CEO Julie Fujishima to Resign
Johnny & Associates Inc, one of Japan’s largest talent agencies, tried to gloss over the matter but was rocked by a growing number of victims pointing their fingers at Kitagawa, in a controversy which attracted widespread attention, and condemnation from the United Nations. Current agency president Julie Fujishima finally made an apology in a video released on May 14, but claimed to have no knowledge of her uncle’s predatory behaviors.
The external panel, which includes a lawyer, a psychiatrist and a clinical psychologist had been hired by Johnny & Associates Inc. to conduct a thorough investigation. They held interviews with 41 alleged victims within 3 months. At a press conference, the panel confirmed that Kitagawa had continued his “repeated” predatory ways for decades, victimizing his young male talents from early 1970s, up till the mid-2010s. His authority over the young recruits – he controlled all aspects of the aspiring idols’ entertainment careers – had made it difficult for them to reject his advances.
The report also shone the light on the cover-up being facilitated by the agency’s family-style management, revealing that Kitagawa’s older sister (Julie Fujishima’s mother) and its management board had knowledge of the abuse, but failed to halt them, while Julie Fukushima failed to act on accusations.
The panel called for Julie Fukushima to resign and hand over her duties to a professional instead, as only this can enable true restructuring and a fresh start for the company, it said.
Source: WorldJournal
The ugliness of this industry is no stranger to many… but to reach this extreme just one person, it clearly shows just how much power this industry have in Japan. There are thousand of victims and of course those who willingly will do anything for a opportunity. I will not go into just how disgusting the other side of Japan is…. Of course Korea is also no different. I will never forget the list of names in the suicide letter letter revealed by Jang Ja-yeon…
It’s sad to see that the victims can only do more to get justice after his death.
While those alive and have been part of the coverup deserve punishment but it’s not the same the witness the real monster rotting in prison and not 6 feet underground.
I do wonder if the very popular boy groups then had similar abuse or they were not touched as the company saw more financial value in them.
Before they are get famous, they were trainees too… I bet many victims rather keep quiet. I bet there are afew who may quickly get married, quit industry or protection from rich females fans etc…
Sadly not even tip of the iceberg for even the JPOP industry let alone rest of the world.