The head of a popular talent agency in Japan has stepped down from his position after acknowledging the sexual abuse carried out by its late founder, Johnny Kitagawa.
Julie Fujishima quit her job at Johnny and Associates on Thursday while publicly apologizing to the people her uncle harmed.
She left a week after investigators discovered that Kitagawa abused young idols at his pop agency for a very long time.
A documentary broadcasted by the BBC this year encouraged more people who had been abused to speak up about their experiences.
Johnny Kitagawa passed away in 2019, and throughout his life, he always claimed that he didn’t do anything wrong. He was never accused or taken to court for anything.
On Thursday, his niece and the previous leader, Ms. Fujishima, recognized the mistreatment for the very first time.
She said that both the agency and she personally acknowledge that Johnny Kitagawa committed sexual abuse.
I am very sorry to the people who were hurt by him.
The local news showed some of the people who were hurt watching a press meeting, and some of them looked really mad.
Kitagawa was possibly the most powerful person in Japan’s showbiz – his company has had complete control over Japanese boy bands for many years.
There were rumors and some reports in the media about him being abusive for many years, but nothing was done about it. For many years, the majority of popular Japanese media did not talk about the claims, which led to accusations of the industry trying to hide the truth.
In March, a TV show on BBC showed how Kitagawa had mistreated people. This made people in Japan talk about it and ask for a thorough investigation.
The article also made more victims share their experiences. One of them was a famous J-pop star named Kauan Okamato, who said he had been sexually abused by Kitagawa starting from when he was 15 years old.
In a recent report, investigators appointed by the agency said that the company’s family management caused the abuse to continue for many years. They also stated that Ms Fujishima, who has worked at the company for a long time, knew about the allegations but did not do anything to address them.