The impact of the British BBC investigative documentary ‘Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop’ is gradually growing not only in the UK and the US, but also in Japan.
This is because it contains the revelation of the atrocities of Johnny Kitagawa (1931-2019), the founder of Johnny’s Office, Japan’s leading entertainment agency that pioneered J-pop.
Kitagawa is known as the ‘Father of Japanese Idol Culture’ as he produced many famous Japanese boy groups such as ‘Zanis’, ‘SMAP’, ‘Arashi’ and ‘Kinki Kids’. He has established himself as a god in the local idol industry. When he died in 2019, he was treated as a hero. Johnny’s groups have been popular in Korea as well, so domestic J-pop fans are also paying close attention to the case.
According to the British Guardian and others, the BBC’s ‘Predator, J-Pop’s Secret Scandal’, which was released on the 7th, includes circumstances in which Kitagawa sexually exploited male idols.
The Guardian, in its documentary review, uses the expression Kitagawa as a paedophile who abused numerous boys for decades, and uses his enormous influence on the Japanese media and society to trap boys like spiders in the center of the net. He said it was obvious that he was abused.
Related rumors about Kitagawa circulated early. An article reported by the Japanese weekly Shukan Bunshun (週刊文春) in 1999 contained testimonies from men who had been abused by Kitagawa as boys. Most sexual abuse occurred in dorms. There were testimonies that Kitagawa treated his trainees like puppets, washed them all over, and had oral sex. There was a rumor among the trainees that if they rejected Kitagawa’s sexual offer, they would not be able to debut or their position would be narrowed even if they debuted.
The following year, Janis sued Shukanbunshun for defamation. After a lengthy trial, the Tokyo High Court acknowledged most of the sexual abuse revealed by Shukanbunshun and gave legitimacy to the Shukanbunshun article. Even so, Japanese society was silent. Most of the media who received Janice’s advertisements also waited and waited. Kitagawa was not prosecuted until his death and retained his presidency.
Ryutaro Nakamura, who was in charge of reporting for Janice when he was in Shukanbunshun, told the BBC that he had been “in a state of despair for over 20 years.”
The BBC said, “It was impossible to criticize Kitagawa because Janice is so intimidating in the Japanese entertainment industry.” “Japan has kept Kitagawa’s dark secret for over 50 years.
But the BBC also faced an embarrassing situation. I met and interviewed some former Janices because they claimed to have been loved, not abused. The BBC said, “Japanese Janice shows how grooming works and how deep the psychology of abuse is. He continued to respect how he refuses to face the truth, even to those who were accused posthumously.”
The documentary is also a subject of attention in Japan. The online version of the Japanese weekly ‘Friday’ reported that a BBC reporter who visited a Japanese idol goods shop to cover the Janice incident was taken aback by the reaction of the fans who barely responded to the report. A BBC reporter complained that Janice’s office seemed to control even the fans.
Also, when a BBC reporter asked former Janices, ‘Why don’t you say bad things about what Kitagawa did?’, they replied, “I don’t hate Johnny. He rather likes it,” said the reporter, who responded that he could not understand at all.
At the end of ‘The Predator, J-Pop’s Secret Scandal’, researchers who are well-versed in Japanese psychology are interviewed to try to uncover the secrets of Japan’s social atmosphere. “‘Sexual abuse creates special bonds,’ says Friday’s online edition. The BBC reporter reluctantly gave an expression of agreement to the explanation that it was a religious leader.”
It is known that the Japanese idol industry is concerned that the “predator, J-pop secret scandal” could deal a bigger blow at a time when Japanese boy groups are being pushed by K-pop idols and are unable to use their strength both in the world and in their home countries.
Regarding the BBC’s coverage, the Janis Office said, “Based on the new era and environment, management and employees are complying with the law without any sanctuary.” We are strengthening the system.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.