Japanese entertainment agency Johnny & Associates has drastically changed since founder Johnny Kitagawa died in 2019. This past weekend, the talent powerhouse made its biggest shift yet when it addressed the recurring allegations of sexual assault levelled at Kitagawa by former male entertainers from the agency.
Kitagawa’s niece and current Johnny’s president, Julie Keiko Fujishima, released a written and video statement on the company’s official website Sunday night. The message walks a tightrope, offering apologies to the alleged victims while also refraining from verifying their claims. However, there’s still a feeling of regret that runs through the statement, with Fujishima emphasizing efforts to launch an internal investigation and change how the agency functions moving forward.
The true impact of the statement is in it existing at all. Allegations of sexual assault linked to Kitagawa first emerged in 1988, after former Johnny’s talent Koji Kita wrote a book that included details about the abuse he suffered at the hands of Kitagawa. The book sold well and was later cited as a reason for a decline in sales for Johnny’s groups, but Kita’s claims were largely ignored by the mainstream media. In the following years, more victims came forward. Domestic publications such as the tabloid Shukan Bunshun and foreign outlets such as The New York Times and The Guardian wrote about the allegations; yet, mainstream Japanese media continued to avoid reporting on the topic. Many of those who followed the story suggested this was due to the talent agency’s formidable position in the entertainment industry: If an outlet mentioned a hint of scandal, they supposed, Johnny’s might retaliate by barring its popular performers from appearing on the station’s other TV programs or in the publisher’s other publications.