Photo/Illutration Ryu Takahashi, who belonged to Johnny & Associates Inc., speaks in Saitama Prefecture in March. (Maki Okubo)

A former idol described a talent agency’s statement of apology as an “act of desperation” and rejected the company president’s claim that she was unaware of the sexual abuse suspicions surrounding star-maker Johnny Kitagawa.

Ryu Takahashi, who said he had staved off Kitagawa’s sexual advances when he belonged to Johnny & Associates Inc., commented on the statement issued by Julie Keiko Fujishima, the company president and a niece of Kitagawa, on May 14.

Although Fujishima apologized for what former idols had suffered, she said the allegations are difficult to confirm, and she denied knowing that the alleged sexual abuse was taking place.

“There were rumors, and a court also handed down a ruling in a lawsuit against Shukan Bunshun,” Takahashi, 31, said. “It does not make sense if someone who was a director and later succeeded (Kitagawa) as president says she did not know.”

He was referring to the weekly magazine that reported the sex-abuse suspicions in 1999 that led to a defamation lawsuit filed by Kitagawa and others.

The Tokyo High Court concluded that key parts of the weekly’s report were true. The ruling was finalized in 2004.

Takahashi said the company posted the video and a statement in Fujishima’s name on its website “as an act of desperation because its survival was at risk if things remained where they stood.”

“I think the company tried to put the matter to rest,” he said. “It was probably the only choice left for the company.”

He said he hopes the management agency, which has produced a number of popular boy bands and male idol groups, will change following the scandal.

“The company will probably take the scandal as an opportunity to change because (Kitagawa) has been dead,” said Takahashi, who joined the agency at the age of 10.

According to Takahashi, Kitagawa handed him a key to his home and invited him to stay over when he was around 16.

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

Takahashi declined the offer, but Kitagawa persisted, saying “I know you are busy.”

He said Kitagawa started rubbing his shoulders, and his hands started sliding down toward the teen’s private parts.

Takahashi firmly told Kitagawa, “Don’t go any further,” and “I said, ‘No!’” The producer then left the room.

Other former idols have come forward and said they dared not resist Kitagawa’s advances because he could make or break their careers.

Asumi Takada, whose fan group called Penlight submitted a petition to Johnny & Associates, said she took the video and statement as “a first step toward change.”

The group’s petition, which carried about 16,000 signatures, called on the agency on May 11 to set up a third-party organization to look into the sexual abuse allegations and confirm the facts.

The company is responsible for carrying out a thorough investigation into the scandal, said Takada, not her real name.

Fujishima said in the May 14 statement that Johnny & Associates decided not to set up an independent panel, citing the need to respect the will of victims who do not want to be questioned, among other reasons.

The agency has separately said it plans to start a service where outside experts will offer consultations to victims.

In a statement issued on May 15, however, Penlight said such a service cannot be a substitute for a full-fledged fact-finding investigation because it will hear only from those who are willing to speak about their experiences.

(This article was written by Maki Okubo, a senior staff writer, and Amane Shimazaki.)

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