The president of a famous Japanese talent agency, specializing in male bands, has apologized for alleged sexual abuse of young artists by her uncle and predecessor at the head of Johnny & Associates.
“More than anything, I deeply apologize to the victims,” Julie Keiko Fujishima said, bowing four times in a minute-long video posted on YouTube on Sunday.
Fujishima also apologized for the “disappointment and concern” caused among fans of artists whose careers are managed by Johnny’s, as the company is also known.
In a written statement, the executive said she was not aware of any cases of abuse and said the agency created teams to create procedures to protect artists and provide counseling for victims.
However, Fujishima did not mention the possibility of requesting an external investigation into the company’s behavior.
Since 1988, accusations have been published against Johnny Kitagawa, a powerful figure in Japanese entertainment. However, the founder of Johnny & Associates, who died in 2019, has never been charged with any crime.
The case returned to the spotlight last month when Brazilian-born Japanese musician Kauan Okamoto became the first alleged victim to come forward and allow both his name and photograph to be published.
At the Foreign Correspondents Club in Tokyo, Okamoto, who signed a contract with Johnny’s when he was 15, said he had been abused at least 20 times and had seen his colleagues abused.
The musician said that, during the period he was at the agency, between 2012 and 2016, Johnny Kitagawa would have abused between 100 and 200 minors.
After meeting with Okamoto, Julie Keiko Fujishima said she couldn’t be sure about the musician’s allegations, but said sexual abuse allegations involving the agency “should never happen again.”
“We were still just getting started, but he gave us the opportunity to change,” said the executive.
A boycott campaign against Johnny’s emerged on social media, including companies that signed advertising and endorsement contracts with the artists the agency manages.
However, a protest petition against the agency has already collected thousands of signatures. Some critics said Fujishima’s apology was not enough, arguing that the executive should call a news conference and take responsibility by resigning.
Others criticized the Japanese press for remaining silent for decades in the face of the allegations, suggesting they feared retaliation and losing access to artists managed by Johnny’s.
According to the complaints, Kitagawa regularly invited young singers and dancers, many of them even minors, to sleep in his mansion, where they were then pressured to have sex with the tycoon.
Source: TSF
