By AMANE SHIMAZAKI/ Staff Writer
September 4, 2023 at 18:12 JST
Shimon Ishimaru, second from right, deputy head of Johnny’s Sexual Assault Victims Association, reads its recommendations at a news conference in Tokyo on Sept. 4. At right is Junya Hiramoto, head of the association. (Masaaki Kobayashi)
Former members of talent agency Johnny & Associates Inc. said they plan to file a criminal complaint over the sexual abuse committed by the company’s founder, Johnny Kitagawa.
They also demanded the agency hold dialogue with the victims, set up funds and establish a committee for fact-finding and relief.
Johnny’s Sexual Assault Victims Association announced its plans at a news conference in Tokyo on Sept. 4.
All seven members of the association attended the news conference.
The association said it is compiling documents for a criminal complaint. It also plans to file a lawsuit abroad and apply for human rights relief.
A third-party investigative panel named “special team to prevent a recurrence,” which was set up by Johnny & Associates, released a report in late August on the sexual abuse allegations against Kitagawa.
The report confirmed that the powerful showbiz mogul, who died in 2019 at age 87, repeatedly sexually abused boys over decades and on a wide scale.
The panel called for the resignation of Julie Keiko Fujishima, who is Kitagawa’s niece and the current president of the talent agency.
For victim relief and to prevent a recurrence, the panel recommended the agency offer sincere apologies to the victims, initiate talks with them, and establish a system that would provide appropriate compensation.
“It is essential to incorporate direct and sufficient dialogue and consultations with the victims and to promote measures that stand by the victims in the mechanism (process) of advancing fact-finding and dialogue for victim relief,” the written request released by the victims association on Sept. 4 said.
Junya Hiramoto, 57, head of the association, said, “We do not want Johnny & Associates to take unilateral measures but to hold dialogue with the victims and to take into account ideas that come up from there.”
The talent agency plans to hold a news conference on the matter on Sept. 7.
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