Smile-Up says two ex-Johnny's staffers were also sexual predators

Two former employees at the now-defunct talent agency Johnny & Associates, whose founder had sexually assaulted performers for decades, also engaged in such abuse, Smile-Up said Thursday.

The statement from Smile-Up, which is responsible for compensating victims of Johnny Kitagawa, came after the BBC published an interview with its president, Noriyuki Higashiyama, saying he believes two former workers had also sexually abused the agency's members.

Smile-Up said the fact that other employees were involved in sexually abusing performers had already been included in an August report compiled by a third-party panel, and that it has shared information on what it knows about the two individuals with the investigation team.

Smile-Up had already reprimanded the two last September in compliance with relevant legislation and company regulations, it said, though it declined to provide additional details on the two to protect the privacy of those involved.

Johnny & Associates, once the most influential talent agency in Japan, faced intense scrutiny over allegations of sexual abuse involving its founder Kitagawa, following the release of a BBC documentary on the assaults in March 2023.

The scandal led to the resignation of Julie Fujishima, the agency's former president and Kitagawa’s niece. The company changed its name to Smile-Up in October last year, aiming to focus on helping compensate victims. Starto Entertainment — a separate company — was launched in December last year to manage performers. Kitagawa died in 2019.

In the BBC interview, Higashiyama said the company will cooperate with the victims if they decide to file a criminal complaint against the two former employees.

The company added that among those who have come forward, it has not received any reports so far indicating that they had been victimized by the two former employees.

As of Friday, the company had received compensation claims from 973 individuals and has compensated 324 of them. However, some victims have voiced concerns that Smile-Up has not been transparent about the criteria for compensation.