Tokyo:
Top Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates said on Monday it would split into two entities – one focused on compensating victims of sexual abuse by its late founder, adding that 325 people have sought compensation so far. The agency will also change its name and distance itself from its founder Johnny Kitagawa.
The agency, which represents only male entertainers, admitted last month that Kitagawa, who died in 2019, had abused hundreds of boys and young men seeking fame dating back to at least the 1970s. Kitagawa’s niece Julie K. Fujishima resigned as agency president last month, apologizing and promising reforms and compensation.
New President Noriyuki Higashiyama said the agency, known as Johnny’s, would change its name to “Smile-Up” and focus solely on compensating Kitagawa’s victims before being disbanded.
A separate company would be spun off to take over the talent management business and extend contracts with those individuals or groups who want to stay, he told a briefing. The new name will be chosen by fans of its entertainers.
The first media reports of Kitagawa’s abuse were published in 1999 by local tabloid Shukan Bunshun, but the scandal was blown wide open this year when more victims came forward following a BBC report in March.
After the agency acknowledged the abuse last month, dozens of major companies said they would terminate their contracts with their entertainers.
In a statement from Fujishima read in her absence, the former CEO, who owns 100% of the agency, said it is her duty as a Kitagawa family member to put an end to Johnny & Associates.
“I want to remove all traces of Johnny Kitagawa from this world,” her statement said.
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