Photo/Illutration Yasunobu Shiga, a former member of the idol group “Ninja” (Amane Shimazaki)

A former member of a pop idol group will share his experiences of sexual abuse by the founder of the entertainment agency Johnny & Associates Inc. with United Nations human rights experts visiting Japan.

“I want to do everything I can,” said Yasunobu Shiga, a former member of the idol group Ninja, who is the first Johnny's idol who made his debut to come forward. 

A delegation from the U.N. Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Business and Human Rights began conducting hearings for those who say Johnny Kitagawa sexually abused them.

Shiga belongs to the Johnny’s Sexual Assault Victims Association, comprising seven former Johnny’s members who publicly accused Kitagawa of sexual abuse. Kitagawa died in 2019 at age 87.

Of the association, he is the only member who had a major career debut.

Since April, Shiga said he has noticed many defamatory comments against “Johnny’s Jr.,” an umbrella term for pre-debut idols, after they disclosed their experiences of sexual abuse.

Comments included, “Isn’t it just a grudge against not having been able to debut?” and “Isn’t it a publicity stunt?”

“As someone who debuted and released CDs, I thought speaking out might help quell the defamation,” he said.

When Shiga was 15, he passed the entertainment agency’s audition and began attending voice and dance lessons the agency offered.

It was around this time that Kitagawa first abused Shiga at an apartment in Tokyo’s Harajuku district when he was sleeping beside other juniors, he said.

“(Kitagawa) touched my genitals and put them in his mouth,” he said. “I was terrified and could only pretend to be asleep.”

Shiga claims the sexual abuse continued for years, occurring around 30 to 40 times until he was around 18 years old.

While his appearances in magazines and on TV increased, he was haunted by what Kitagawa had done to him.

He could not even eat, he said. When he debuted as a member of Ninja in 1990 at the age of 22, his weight had plummeted by more than 10 kilograms to just 42 kg. He had worked while on an intravenous drip.

The group’s popularity soared, and the members appeared in “NHK Kohaku Utagassen” (literally, Red and White song battle), an annual New Year’s Eve TV entertainment special on the Japan Broadcasting Corp.

When Shiga went outside, he was surrounded by many fans.

But internally, he said he struggled.

“I felt as though I was tainted and it was really painful,” he said. “I also felt guilty, so I could not be truly happy (about my success).”

He left the agency when he was 25 and now serves as an executive of a corporation.

During his time as an idol, he went to a psychiatrist for depression, insomnia and hyperventilation.

Shiga said he was scared every time he saw men of the same age and appearance as Kitagawa.

Just seeing the Harajuku district in Tokyo on TV brought back traumatic memories, and he was overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, he said.

Shiga said he has lived with these recurring fears for more than 30 years.

He is now “filled with gratitude” for the U.N. human rights experts’ visit.

Shiga said he felt a sense of a shared recognition that what happened to them is a serious infringement on human rights. He intends to actively participate in the hearing.

“I knew about (Kitagawa’s sexual abuse), but I didn’t speak up,” he said. “That might have allowed the damage to expand to this extent.”

“If there’s anything I can do now, I want to do everything I can,” he said.

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

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