Julie Keiko Fujishima, president of Johnny & Associates Inc., apologizes over the sexual abuse scandal in a video released on May 14. (Provided by Johnny & Associates Inc.)

Photo/Illutration Julie Keiko Fujishima, president of Johnny & Associates Inc., apologizes over the sexual abuse scandal in a video released on May 14. (Provided by Johnny & Associates Inc.)

The president of Johnny & Associates Inc. apologized to former pop idols who said they were sexually abused by the agency’s founder, Johnny Kitagawa, but said it was difficult to confirm the allegations.

“As a matter of first priority, I offer my deepest apologies to those who have come forward with the experiences they suffered,” Julie Keiko Fujishima said in a one-minute video posted on the company’s website on May 14.

However, Fujishima, a niece of the late Kitagawa, avoided discussing the allegations made by Kauan Okamoto, a former idol with the agency, and others with similar stories of sexual abuse.

“It is not easy to state in a word whether or not we acknowledge individual accusations as facts because it is not possible to confirm with Johnny Kitagawa, the person concerned,” a statement released on the website in her name said.

“We must pay careful consideration to secondary damage, such as defamation based on speculation.”

Johnny & Associates has produced a number of popular boy bands and male idol groups, such as SMAP, Shonentai and Arashi.

The statement was written in a question-and-answer format.

Fujishima said she was not in a position of knowing about Kitagawa’s alleged misconduct.

Instead she referred to two dominant figures in the agency: Kitagawa, who served as producer, and Mary Yasuko Fujishima, who assumed full authority for company affairs.

“The agency was long in a situation that did not allow anyone to access important information about company administration except for the two,” the statement said.

Kitagawa died in 2019 at the age of 87. Mary Fujishima, Kitagawa’s elder sister, is also deceased.

Julie Fujishima said the agency assembled a compliance committee to prevent a recurrence and also plans to invite an outsider on its board.

But she said the agency decided against setting up a third-party panel to look into the sexual misconduct allegations.

“There is a high likelihood that certain people may be questioned against their will,” the statement said. “We also received advice from an outside expert that we need to pay due attention to the individual situations and psychological burdens of people who would be questioned and exercise caution.”

Fujishima said she deems herself responsible for “not having tried to learn (about the suspicions) proactively and pursue them.” But she said she would not step down from her position.

“What I should do now is not run away from this problem and instead address those who have come forward with the experiences they suffered,” she said. “Secondly, (I should) carry out management reforms and drastic improvements in staff awareness that we have initiated.”

The BBC in March aired “Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop,” a one-hour documentary about Kitagawa’s suspected sexual abuse against minors.

Okamoto, 26, told a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo on April 12 that he was sexually abused by Kitagawa at his home and elsewhere during the 2010s when he was a fledgling idol collectively known as “Johnny’s Jr.”

In a statement issued under Fujishima’s name, Johnny & Associates told its corporate business associates that the agency had interviewed its performers and others and planned to offer consultations by outside experts to the alleged victims.

A group of fans of Johnny & Associates idols on May 11 submitted a petition with 16,125 signatures to the agency demanding a third-party investigation.

The agency had told The Asahi Shimbun that it would announce its views and responses over the weekend.

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