A former teen idol said he was one of the many victims of sexual assault committed by Johnny Kitagawa, the founder of one of Japan’s largest and most influential talent agencies.

Kauan Okamoto, 26, said that he and other boys at the agency, Johnny & Associates Inc., dared not to refuse Kitagawa’s sexual advances because they feared he would end their budding careers in show business.

Okamoto, now a musician, made the allegations at a news conference held at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo on April 12.

Kitagawa died in July 2019 at the age of 87. His agency has produced dozens of boy bands and male idol groups known collectively as Janiizu (Johnny’s), such as SMAP, Shonentai, Arashi and Travis Japan.

Born in Aichi Prefecture, Okamoto joined the agency in February 2012 when he was 15 years old. He became a member of “Johnny’s Jr.,” an umbrella term referring to pre-debut idols in the making.

Because he had to travel from Aichi Prefecture to Tokyo for work, Okamoto often stayed at Kitagawa’s home in the capital.

Okamoto said the first assault occurred in March 2012.

He said that after dinner at Kitagawa’s home, the producer started massaging his shoulders and told him, “Why don’t you go to bed early.”

Okamoto did, and when he was sleeping, Kitagawa entered the room.

“Mr. Johnny started massaging my feet. His hands moved up bit by bit, and he directly touched my genitals and performed oral sex on me,” Okamoto said.

He said he pretended to be asleep throughout the incident.

The following day, Kitagawa handed him 10,000 yen ($75) in an elevator, Okamoto said.

He said he stayed at Kitagawa’s place more than 100 times after the first incident, and that he was sexually assaulted 15 to 20 times at Kitagawa’s home and at hotels before he left the agency in 2016.

He also said he saw Kitagawa sexually assault three of his cohorts who were sleeping in the same room.

Asked why the boys put up with the abuse, Okamoto said, “In the first place, the boys who could make their debuts at Johnny’s were Mr. Johnny’s favorites. Everybody understood that a word from Mr. Johnny dictates everything.”

He also said that he had heard from other Johnny’s Jr. boys, “If you don’t go to (Kitagawa’s) mansion, you won’t be a star.”

Although he said the “sexual acts committed against a 15-year-old me and other Jr. members were a bad thing,” Okamoto was “grateful” to Kitagawa.

“It is thanks to Mr. Johnny that my life has changed,” he said, referring to his career in the entertainment business.

BUNSHUN AND BBC

Okamoto is not the first person to accuse Kitagawa of sexual misconduct.

In 1999, the weekly Shukan Bunshun magazine reported that Kitagawa had sexually abused numerous boys at the agency.

Kitagawa filed a defamation lawsuit against the magazine.

During the trial, Kitagawa said, “It is hard for me to clearly say that (the victims) lied in their testimonies.”

The Tokyo High Court concluded that key parts of Bunshun’s report on Kitagawa’s sexual abuse were true.

But the court raised doubts about Bunshun’s report that Kitagawa allowed boys to drink and smoke daily. The court ordered the magazine’s publisher to pay the plaintiff 1.2 million yen in compensation.

Although Kitagawa appealed, the court’s ruling was finalized in 2004.

In March this year, the BBC aired a one-hour documentary, “Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop,” detailing Kitagawa’s suspected sexual assaults against minors and the Japanese media’s decades-long silence on the issue.

The documentary was available for viewing by Japanese audiences.

The journalists who produced the documentary said at a news conference before it was aired that they hoped it would help to create an environment where victims of sexual violence could come forward.

At the FCCJ, Okamoto said, “It is my wish that every (victim) can speak out” and that there will be no more sexual assault victims “in the entertainment industry.”

ONE TEEN WHO SAID ‘NO’

Another man has told The Asahi Shimbun that he once stopped Kitagawa’s sexual advances.

Ryu Takahashi, 31, who lives in Saitama Prefecture, said he became a member of Johnny’s Jr. at the age of 10.

When he was around 16 years old, Kitagawa handed him a key to his home and invited him to stay over.

Takahashi said that one day, when he was sleeping alone at Kitagawa’s home, the producer entered the bedroom and said, “I will give you a massage.”

Takahashi said he declined the offer, but Kitagawa persisted, saying “I know you are busy,” and started rubbing his shoulders. His hands started sliding down toward the teen’s private parts.

Takahashi said he firmly told Kitagawa, “Don’t go any further,” and “I said, ‘No!’”

Kitagawa then said, “Sorry, you are right,” and left the room, according to Takahashi.

“It was a failed attempt in my case because I was able to say ‘no,’” he said.

Takahashi quit the agency when he was 20. He currently runs an “izakaya” pub-restaurant.

“If you ask me if it was right or wrong, I definitely think it was wrong,” Takahashi said. “Doing such things to children is no different than bullying.”

Takahashi also said multiple boys have told him they fell victim to Kitagawa’s sexual assaults.

Like Okamoto, Takahashi does not hate Kitagawa for what he did.

“Mr. Johnny had an overwhelming ability as a producer. I think he was genius. Even now, I don’t dislike him. I like him,” Takahashi said.

Since Kitagawa’s death, Johnny & Associates has been run by his niece, Julie Keiko Fujishima.

The agency would not confirm or deny the allegations made by Okamoto and others.

It released a statement on April 12 that said the agency has worked to build a system that is transparent and capable of earning the trust of society since Kitagawa’s death.

“The company’s management as well as employees will continue to work as one to thoroughly observe compliance rules and strengthen governance with the aid of experts who are non-biased and neutral,” the statement said.

(This article was written by senior staff writer Maki Okubo, Kohei Kano, correspondent Ryuichi Kanari, and Azusa Kato.)