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April 26, 2025
 

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JAPAN / Society
Aug 4, 2023

U.N. experts criticize Johnny’s sex abuse investigation

The experts called on the government to do more to investigate decades of suspected abuse against male idols by Johnny Kitagawa.
Warabeya Nichiyo Holdings has apologized after a video went viral that showed one of its rice ball products appearing to contain a cockroach at a Seven Eleven convenience store.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2023

Cockroach contamination sends rice-ball supplier’s stock reeling

The company said it is recalling all relevant goods from the factory in Omiya where the food was produced.
Workers at a garment factory in the Hlaing Tar Yar industry zone in Yangon, Myanmar, in 2010. Fast fashion retailer H&M says it is following up on 20 alleged instances of labor abuse at Myanmar garment factories.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 16, 2023

H&M probes Myanmar factory abuses as pressure intensifies

The move comes after top rival Zara owner Inditex said it is phasing out purchases from the Southeast Asian country.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 23, 2023

Kishida faces leadership test over Johnny's sexual abuse scandal

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who prides himself on his “ability to listen,” faces a test of his leadership amid the Johnny's sexual abuse scandal.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 29, 2023

Expert team reports on decades of sexual abuse by Johnny Kitagawa

The team urged Johnny & Associates President Julie Keiko Fujishima to step down after the family-run business left the issue unaddressed for decades.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 30, 2023

Media respond to report on sexual abuse at Johnny and Associates

The committee said Japan's mainstream media chose to ignore Kitagawa’s sexual abuse in order to maintain access to Johnny & Associates' talent pool.
Julie Keiko Fujishima (right), who stepped down as Johnny & Associates president on Tuesday, and new President Noriyuki Higashiyama give a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 7, 2023

Johnny's replaces president as it admits to abuse by late founder

The replacement comes on the heels of a scathing third-party report, which recommended that Julie Keiko Fujishima resign as president.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 8, 2023

Kauan Okamoto finds some closure after recognition of Kitagawa abuse

“I felt a bit better. There’s nothing more I want to say to Johnny & Associates,” Okamoto said.
Johnny & Associates President Julie Keiko Fujishima (second from right) acknowledged that company founder Johnny Kitagawa had sexually abused agency employees for decades during a press conference in Tokyo on Sept. 7.
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Sep 9, 2023

What’s in a name? A lot of baggage and trauma, unfortunately.

Johnny and Associates' recognition of abuse is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to move forward.
Major Japanese food and beverage maker Asahi Group Holdings made the decision not to feature Johnny's talents in its future sales promotion activities "to prevent itself from promoting human rights violations by a business partner."
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 9, 2023

Asahi to end use of Johnny's personalities in ads

The major Japanese food and beverage maker made the decision "to prevent itself from promoting human rights violations by a business partner."
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2023

More companies move away from Johnny’s over sex abuse scandal

Many firms say they won't work with the agency again until it hears how Johnny's will help the victims and prevent further incidents.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 14, 2023

Johnny's says it will work for free as firms cut ties over scandal

The talent agency says it will not receive management fees for advertisements and television appearances by performers for a year.
The incoming and outgoing presidents of Johnny & Associates, Noriyuki Higashiyama and Julie Keiko Fujishima, bow at a press conference on Sept. 7.
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 14, 2023

Johnny’s talent agency has admitted to a past of abuse. What next?

Karin Kaneko joins the show to update us on how the story is unfolding.
A woman walks past a roadside television screen reporting the death of Johnny Kitagawa, founder of Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates, in Tokyo in July 2019.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 16, 2023

Johnny's sex abuse scandal causing TV sponsors to reconsider

A growing number of Japanese companies have been rethinking their involvement as sponsors of television programs starring members of Johnny & Associates.
The decision by Johnny & Associates during a news conference on Sept. 7 to retain the company name — despite its association with an alleged sexual predator — drew a lot of public criticism.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 20, 2023

Johnny & Associates considers changing name as criticism mounts

On its website, the agency said it was “discussing the future of the company, taking into consideration opinions and criticisms.”
Does a person have a duty to alert others when they see wrongdoing in a company? Or is it better to leave the gods untouched lest you be cursed?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 21, 2023

A culture of silence vs. a culture of speaking up

The scandal at talent agency Johnny & Associates was made worse by a culture of “keeping the lid on a stinky thing.”
Johnny & Associates' outgoing head Julie Keiko Fujishima and its new chief, Noriyuki Higashiyama, bow to express their apology during a news conference in Tokyo last month.
BUSINESS
Oct 1, 2023

Johnny's looks toward a revamp as it seeks to salvage tarnished brand

Recent attempts to distance the agency from the long shadow of its namesake have been met with public backlash.
Johnny & Associates president Noriyuki Higashiyama (second from right), flanked by Johnnys' Island President Yoshihiko Inohara (second from left), unveils the company name Smile-Up during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 2, 2023

Johnny's to form new company in wake of sexual abuse by founder

The move comes after the agency acknowledged abuse and apologized to victims in a news conference last month.
JAPAN / Explainer
Oct 3, 2023

Unpacking the latest Johnny & Associates news conference

The flood of information released during the agency's latest news conference may have been difficult to grasp. Here's what you need to know.
A reporter raises their hand during a Johnny & Associates news conference on Monday. Journalists were limited to a “one question per company” at the event.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 4, 2023

Johnny’s news conference had journalist ‘blacklist,' reports say

Johnny & Associates has said it never made a request that specific journalists be passed over for questions.
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2023

Johnny’s founder accused of sexually abusing teen in NHK bathroom

The man, who was a high school student at the time, said that he was assaulted in the fall of 2002 when he attended a dance lesson.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 11, 2023

Johnny's denies that it was involved in reporter blacklisting

The agency responded to the backlash that arose over a journalist blacklist for a news conference addressing sexual abuse allegations by its late founder.
The late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church, is depicted on a leaflet marking the first anniversary of his death in September 2012
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 16, 2023

Japan's media has to account for its failures, too

The Unification Church is set to be dissolved and Johnny & Associates is undergoing structural reforms. What role did the media play, or not play?
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Oct 17, 2023

With new name for Johnny's, focus shifts to victim compensation

The talent agency will face challenges in identifying those eligible for compensation due to the sheer number of victims of abuse by Johnny Kitagawa.
Nurses and university students majoring in nursing hold up signs that read "Nurse act", during a protest against President Yoon Suk Yeol vetoing a nursing act that defines the roles and responsibilities of nurses, in Seoul on May 19.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 19, 2023

Why South Korea has so many protests, and what that means

Born during South Korea’s difficult march toward self-governance in the 1980s, protest rallies are a fixture of Asia’s most vibrant democracy.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 23, 2023

Race to develop new laundry detergent heats up in Japan

Manufacturers are racing to offer detergent products that come in single washing amounts and do not require measurement.
A ceremony marking the opening of the carbon credit market at the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo on Oct. 11
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 15, 2023

Why all carbon credits aren’t created equal

Because the carbon credit market is unregulated and completely voluntary, it’s been able to get away with a lack of scrutiny.
Pedestrians and shoppers walk past a branch of fashion retailer H&M in central Stockholm on July 17.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 9, 2023

Sustainable cloth-maker Renewcell struggling amid slow adoption

Stock in Renewcell lost over 80% of its value in the last month and the firm has reported an operating loss of $17 million in nine months.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Nov 13, 2023

NHK ditches Johnny's acts for year-end musical bonanza

For the first time in 44 years, performers represented by the beleaguered talent agency will not appear on "Kohaku Uta Gassen."
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 22, 2023

Things get warmer with Xi; Johnny’s get the cold shoulder

While Japan and China look to ease tensions, NHK makes things tense with a Johnny’s-less “Kohaku” announcement.
Naked man’s rampage in Saitama linked to one fatality and 10 injured
Police believe Daisuke Nishimura may have been involved in roughly 20 incidents in the 90 minutes leading up to his arrest, including a fatal hit-and-run and multiple assaults.
Japan set to fine cyclists on the spot for rule violations from 2026
Under new rules, those who use smartphones while riding a bicycle would be subject to the maximum fine of ¥12,000.
Japan brings forward deadline for electronic travel authorization system
Japan is planning to implement by March 2029 a new online screening system in which foreign visitors who don’t need a visa apply for a certification before entering the country.
Built in a flash, Osaka Expo pavilions wrestle with sustainability
Kengo Kuma & Associates oversaw the construction of the Malaysia pavilion, which is encased in interwoven rows of bamboo that appear to ripple.
Social media helps fuel growing 'sex tourism' in Japan
People walk down a street in the red-light entertainment area of Kabukicho in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on March 31.
Amid uncertain tariffs, is now the time to buy a new iPhone?
An Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in September. Prices for the newest iPhone models start at around ¥100,000 ($700) in Japan.
Built in a flash, Osaka Expo pavilions wrestle with sustainability
Kengo Kuma & Associates oversaw the construction of the Malaysia pavilion, which is encased in interwoven rows of bamboo that appear to ripple.
Japan weighs using U.S. rice imports as tariff negotiation tool with Trump
A restaurant owner pours California-grown Calrose rice into a rice cooker at his restaurant in Tokyo
Is Japan’s parliament ready to welcome more youth to its ranks?
Lower House lawmaker Kai Odake in his Tokyo office on Wednesday
Crow meat, goat tartare: Mauvaise Herbe raises its game
Crow meat, shaped into a ball and attached to a foot of the bird, is one of the peculiar offerings of game at Mauvaise Herbe.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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