The incumbent president of Johnny’s, Japan’s largest male idol agency, where allegations of sexual exploitation of underage trainees arose, apologized through a video, saying, “I deeply apologize to those who are complaining about the damage.” This is an official response two months after the allegations were revealed.
According to a BBC documentary released in March, former president Johnny Kitagawa, who died in 2019, was said to have sexually abused several teenage trainees at the office over the years. In April, a victim featured in the documentary held a press conference and testified that Kitagawa had sexually abused her on several occasions.
Incumbent president Julie K Fujishima, who expressed an apology about a month after the victim’s public testimony, revealed the position of the agency through a video of an apology lasting about one minute on the 14th. He avoided confirming whether it was true or not by saying, “It is difficult to say in one word ‘true’ or ‘no’ about the individual accusations.”
According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 15th, the Johnny’s Office said in a document titled “Johnny’s Office’s Opinion and Response to the Problem of Harassment by the Late Johnny Kitagawa” about the complaint, “I never think there was a problem. As a company and as an individual, I believe that such an act can never be forgiven.”
However, while Johnny Kitagawa himself could not confirm whether it was true or not, in order to prevent malicious slander based on speculation, he postponed the responsibility for confirming the facts, saying, “I hope you understand this point.” The office only said, “We take it very seriously that there are people who say that they have suffered damage in front of their eyes.”
President Juli Fujishima was serving as an in-house executive in 1999, when allegations of sexual exploitation by former president Kitagawa were first reported in Japan. When asked if he was unaware of the occurrence of sexual exploitation, President Fujishima drew the line, “I did not know.”
He said that in order to explain this, it was necessary to explain the decision-making process of the Johnny’s office at the time. . The rest of the executives also made an excuse that they did not share what the Kitagawa siblings decided or ordered.
President Fujishima said that he would not set up a third-party committee for future responses. He added that it was a measure that took into account the psychological burden of those who do not wish to be interviewed or those who are being interviewed.
Regarding the former trainees who reported the damage, they said they plan to open a counseling window within this month. According to the Asahi Shimbun, prior to the official statement, President Fujishima was reported to have had a face-to-face meeting with the two victims who reported the damage.
In addition, for those who complained of damage or are suffering mentally, he said, “I will sincerely face it with the help of experts, including counseling.”
President Fujishima denied his resignation, saying, “I will complete ongoing management reforms and drastic internal reforms to prevent this from happening again.”
Meanwhile, Johnny’s fans requested verification and investigation by a third party, and collected about 16,000 signatures and delivered them to the office.
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.