Photo/Illutration Julie Keiko Fujishima resigns as president of Johnny & Associates Inc. at a news conference on Sept. 7. Many advertisers have still cut ties to the entertainment agency. (Shinnosuke Ito)

In a move previously considered unheard-of, a growing number of advertisers are severing ties with Johnny & Associates Inc., the entertainment agency that finally acknowledged its founder had sexually abused boys for decades.

Asahi Group Holdings Ltd., Kirin Holdings Co. and Suntory Holdings Ltd., which oversee some of the nation’s top beer and soft drink brands, said they will not use the idols and celebrities employed by the agency after existing advertising contracts expire.

Japan Airlines Co., Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Nippon Life Insurance Co. and Nissan Motor Co. also said they will not feature the agency’s idols in new advertisements.

Atsushi Katsuki, president of Asahi Group Holdings, said Johnny & Associates failed to specify convincing measures to provide relief to victims of founder Johnny Kitagawa and overhaul its corporate governance structure at its news conference on Sept. 7.

“In light of our group’s human rights policy formulated in 2019, we would be tolerating human rights violations if we continue business (with the agency),” Katsuki said in an interview on Sept. 11. “We should not book sales, even 1 yen, at the expense of human rights.”

Asahi Group Holdings disclosed its policy on Sept. 8, a day after the agency’s president, Julie Keiko Fujishima, niece of Kitagawa, resigned at the news conference.

Asahi plans to pull ongoing TV and web advertisements featuring the agency’s stars in stages.

It enlists 23 Johnny & Associates members, such as Junichi Okada, Toma Ikuta and Sho Sakurai, to promote beverages produced by subsidiaries Asahi Breweries Ltd. and Asahi Soft Drinks Co.

Kirin Holdings initially planned to put pressure on Johnny & Associates to provide relief to victims and take steps to prevent a recurrence without making immediate decisions on advertisements.

But the company changed its policy on Sept. 8 after examining the agency’s news conference and concluding that it will take some time before the agency fully addresses the problem.

“We decided that we should not continue business until the agency publishes and implements concrete measures and enforces corporate governance functions under a clear human rights policy,” a company representative said.

Suntory Holdings said Sept. 11 it will not conclude new contracts with Johnny & Associates until it receives a satisfactory explanation.

McDonald’s Co. (Japan) said Sept. 12 it will not renew contracts for advertisements featuring Takuya Kimura and other idols under the agency’s management.

Aflac Life Insurance Japan Ltd. said it is seeking new options, such as signing contracts directly with the idols instead of through the agency.

Lion Corp., a major household products maker, said it will carefully discuss whether to use the agency’s members for advertising.

“We want to support people who are promoting our products in advertisements, but we are aware of the arguments that continuing contracts would amount to condoning sexual abuse,” a company representative said.

Kitagawa, who died in 2019, sexually abused mainly teenage boys signed by the agency over decades.

Mainstream media companies largely shied away from reporting on the molestation allegations out of fears Johnny & Associates would deny them access to its idols, who included some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry.

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