Photo/Illutration Junya Hiramoto, center, with other members of the Johnny’s Sexual Assault Victims Association in Tokyo on July 18. Two other members joined the gathering online from the Kansai region. (Maki Okubo)

U.N. human rights experts are expected to conduct a hearing over the alleged sexual abuses committed by Johnny Kitagawa, founder of the entertainment agency Johnny & Associates Inc., during their visit to Japan from July 24.

A delegation from the U.N. Working Group on Business and Human Rights, set up by the U.N. Human Rights Council, will investigate how the Japanese government and companies are trying to meet their obligations and responsibilities about human rights.

The working group, established based on the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, is tasked with calling on member countries to take action to prevent corporate activities from infringing on human rights.

Two of the five experts the Human Rights Council appointed will visit Tokyo, Hokkaido, Osaka Prefecture, Aichi Prefecture, Fukushima Prefecture and elsewhere during their stay through Aug. 4, according to the working group.

Pichamon Yeophantong of Thailand and Damilola Olawuyi of Nigeria will hear from central and local government officials, labor and business representatives and citizen activists, among other people.

A news conference is scheduled in Tokyo for Aug. 4. A report will then be presented to the Human Rights Council in June of next year.

A resolution by the Human Rights Council is respected as the will of the international community, though it is not legally binding.

“We have been encouraged by the fact that we will receive a U.N. hearing,” said Junya Hiramoto, who heads the Johnny’s Sexual Assault Victims Association. “We are grateful for being given a chance to meet and talk with (U.N. experts).”

The group, which was formed at the end of June, comprises seven former Johnny members who publicly accused Kitagawa of sexually abusing them. Kitagawa died in 2019 at age 87. 

Hiramoto, who sent a message on the issue to the United Nations in mid-June, said it is important that the United Nations sees the problem as a human rights issue.

“The U.N. delegation’s visit will send a message to Johnny & Associates,” he said.

Hiramoto, who joined Johnny & Associates when he was 13, said Kitagawa kissed him and touched his genitals when he stayed in Kitagawa’s apartment.

In the 1990s, he published a book describing the sexual abuse he and other members endured. 

“We are not talking about the past,” Hiramoto said. “We were victimized. Those around us neglected the problem and Kitagawa came to be seen as a godlike figure. Our suffering remains unaddressed.”

(This article was compiled from reports by Kosuke So in Paris and Maki Okubo, a senior staff writer.)

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