Johnny & Associates to Rebrand After Scandal

Johnny & Associates’ late founder Johnny Kitagawa was one of the richest and most powerful men in Japan. For decades, he was responsible for launching the country’s most famous boybands and artistes. While alive, he had denied sexual abuse allegations but but his abuse was considered an open secret in Japan’s music industry. Then in March, BBC released a documentary Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop which sparked international attention and calls for a full investigation.

Several Japanese companies have since distanced themselves from the agency including Nissan, Asahi, and Suntory. Broadcaster NHK has also stated that it would not sign new contracts with stars from the agency until it was convinced the scandal had been properly addressed.

Yesterday, Johnny & Associates held a press conference led by Noriyuki Higashiyama, Yoshihiko Inohara, lawyers, and other executives. They announced that after 61 years, the company would be rebranding into two separate companies.

One would be called SMILE-UP, which originated from 2018 charity project Johnny’s Smile Up! Project. SMILE-UP will be entirely devoted to compensating victims of Johnny’s sexual abuse and will not be involved in artiste management or entertainment projects. CCO Masayuki Yamada stated that the company has received complaints from 478 victims, of which 325 are requesting compensation. When these matters are concluded, SMILE-UP will cease operations.

Noriyuki and Yoshihiko stated the artistes currently under Johnny & Associates will create their own workshops, and a new agency will be created to partner with these workshops. The new company name will be decided based on fan suggestions.

As Johnny’s era comes to an end, Noriyuki confirmed they will be removing Johnny from the two band names the company manages, but have not decided what the new names will be. He shared that this was a very tough decision for the artistes as Kanjani Eight and Johnny’s WEST are very well known with the public. There is also the matter of Johnny’s Jr. who has not made their debut yet.

After the press conference, TOKIO quickly announced they would be forming their own company under the same name and their leader Shigeru Joshima would be their CEO. Junichi Okada, former member of V6, will also be leaving Johnny’s in November and will open his own company to handle his acting career.

Source: [1]

This article is written by Kiki for JayneStars.com.