President of Johnny’s, Japan Talent Agency, Apologizes for Alleged Sexual Abuses by Founder
variety.comMark Schilling Japan Correspondent The current president of Johnny & Associates, possibly Japan’s most fearsome talent agency, has formally apologized for sexual abuses allegedly committed by her uncle and agency founder, Johnny Kitagawa, against young male talents.
Kitagawa died in 2019, age 87. But an expose aired by the BBC in March this year and personal testimony by former Johnny’s talent Okamoto Kauan at a Tokyo press conference last month, brought matters into the public eye.
Okamoto alleged that Kitagawa had repeatedly abused him and others.Japanese media, which had maintained a general, if not universal, silence about Kitagawa’s alleged abuses for decades, has recently been stirred up by the accusations.
Johnny’s president, ‘Julie’ Fujishima Keiko, said published video statement on Sunday and posted it to the agency website. “We sincerely apologize for the disappointment and anxiety this has caused,” she said.
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