The sexual abuse scandal at a top J-pop agency that took decades to unravel
As of Sep 30, 478 men had come out to say they were victims, and 325 had sought compensation.
FILE - A passer-by watches a TV news reporting Johnny Kitagawa's passing away in Tokyo, on July 10, 2019. A growing number of people are alleging sexual abuse by Kitagawa, who ruled over Japanese entertainment for decades, founding and heading his talent agency, known as Johnny’s, reputed for being behind a string of boy-bands. (Kyodo News via AP, File)
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TOKYO: In 1982, bright-eyed teenager Shimon Ishimaru joined one of Japan’s biggest male talent agencies with hopes of a star-studded career in the hugely popular J-pop scene.
During his three years at Johnny & Associates founded by entertainment mogul Johnny Kitagawa, Mr Ishimaru was a budding talent.
He became a member of a group called Johnny’s Junior, and was even given access to a coveted training camp – by invitation only from Kitagawa himself, where the powerful businessman lived among the trainees.
But Mr Ishimaru’s time at the agency soon turned into a nightmare. Kitagawa would visit his bedroom from time to time and sexually abuse him, Mr Ishimaru, now 56 years old, told CNA.
“After I was assaulted, the next day he gave me cash. If I remember correctly, I received 30,000 yen (US$199),” he said.
He kept silent as the abuse continued, fearing that speaking out would end his J-pop dream.
However, in May this year, he spoke about his experience in a blog and has since become a member of the recently established advocacy group Johnny’s Sexual Assault Victims Association.
However, revealing the painful past has taken a huge toll on Mr Ishimaru. He said he has suffered from depression since leaving the company.
He currently lives in a tiny apartment on the outskirts of Tokyo and survives on public support, having just one meal a day because it is all he can afford.
“If it weren’t for (my girlfriend) I would have committed suicide. I cannot bear this. I can’t handle this if she wasn’t there for me,” he said.
Mr Ishimaru is not the only victim who has come forward.
As of Sep 30, new management at the talent agency said 478 people had come forward to say they were Kitagawa’s victims, and 325 had sought compensation.
KINGMAKER OF JAPANESE SHOW BIZ
In 1962, Kitagawa, who was regarded as the kingmaker of Japanese show business, set up the company, which would go on to become one of the nation’s most successful talent agencies.
He launched boyband after boyband that became Japanese household names, including Arashi, SMAP and SixTones.
Kitagawa’s name was even stamped in the Guinness Book of World Records for having over 200 number one hits in Japan between 1974 and 2010.
The firm, also known as Johnny’s, was among three agencies that had very strong relationships with sponsors, television networks, staging companies and the rest of the entertainment industry, said Professor Kenji Kitatani, a former vice-president at entertainment giant Sony and an expert in the global media and entertainment business.
“Over the years, it became a necessity on any TV show to have at least one of Johnny’s talents or artistes in it. Otherwise, it was very difficult to market the content. Johnny’s continued to grow for over a period of 40 years,” he added.
SEXUAL ABUSE BEHIND THE SCENES
However, behind the scenes, trainees at the agency - many of them teenagers - were being sexually assaulted by Kitagawa.
Even as early as the 1960s, gossip magazines ran allegations of his sexual exploits, but mainstream media turned a blind eye, noted Prof Kitatani, who is also director of the Institute for Contents & Technology Integration at the Kanazawa Institute of Technology.
“In the 1980s, books were published. In 2004, Johnny’s lost a lawsuit. But Japan’s key TV networks and dailies did not treat them as significant stories,” he said.
Appointed in late May this year, an investigation team interviewed 41 people and found that Kitagawa started sexually abusing boys in the 1950s, even before setting up the agency. He did so again from the 1970s through to the 2010s.
He died in 2019 at the age of 87 without being charged with any crime.
The investigators, made up of a former prosecutor-general, a psychiatrist, a child trauma specialist, and six lawyers, found that Johnny & Associates did not take appropriate actions, such as investigating whether the sexual abuse allegations against the founder were true or not.
AGENCY CHANGES NAME, PROMISES COMPENSATION
The accounts by former Johnny’s trainees have been confirmed by Mr Noriyuki Higashiyama, a former Johnny’s superstar.
He now heads the scandal-hit agency, taking over from Kitagawa’s niece Julie Keiko Fujishima, who resigned last month after apologising for the actions of her late uncle.
Mr Higashiyama admitted that he was aware of what was going on in the 80s but did nothing.
“It was a forbidden topic, something we kept out of. I was too young to wield any influence,” he said.
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“Today, I will do what I can. It's not easy to heal the broken hearts. Compensation will not end the problem. We will remove (Johnny’s) name from everything,” he said.
Johnny & Associates has been renamed Smile Up since Oct 17, as the firm attempts to distance itself from Kitagawa.
The company will eventually be dissolved when compensation to victims is completed. Talents will be shifted to a separate agency, which Mr Higashiyama plans to set up later.
Prof Kitatani said that the unravelling of the abuse, despite taking decades to come to light, has been a positive outcome.
“It’s the first time in Japan that this negative, dark crime which has been committed by one of the three major agencies has been revealed. Therefore, my conclusion is that this was actually better for the industry,” he said.
