Noriyuki Higashiyama, president of Johnny & Associates Inc., mentioned a persistent shortcoming of the talent agency during its decades of existence.

“We have always failed to respond on time,” Higashiyama said at a news conference in Tokyo on Oct. 2.

In this case, he was referring to the company’s bungled reaction after confirming on Sept. 7 that its founder, Johnny Kitagawa, had sexually abused hundreds of boys signed by the agency.

Backed into a corner, the agency announced on Oct. 2 that it was severing all connections to Kitagawa and taking a “fresh start” in a new direction.

But this still failed to halt the trend of companies distancing themselves from the agency.

The agency said it will be renamed “Smile-Up,” with a focus on compensating Kitagawa’s many victims, and will eventually be dissolved.

A letter from former agency President Julie Keiko Fujishima, Kitagawa’s niece, was read at the news conference: “I want to completely erase any trace of Kitagawa from this world.”

The agency will also set up a new company to manage performers and groups belonging to the agency.

Although some of the existing groups carry the “Johnny’s” name, Higashiyama said the members were considering name changes.

“Anything with ‘Johnny’s’ in the name will be discontinued,” he said.

‘HOW WRONG WE WERE’

Just a month ago, on Sept. 7, Higashiyama labeled Kitagawa as a “brute” but said Johnny & Associates would retain its name.

Higashiyama, who once fronted the boy band Shonentai, described the “Johnny’s” name as the “energy and pride that the performers have nurtured over decades.”

A source in the entertainment industry also said, “There were strong desires to retain the agency’s name among many Johnny’s entertainers.”

However, the continued use of the sexual predator’s name raised immediate doubts that the company could break away from its “family management,” which was cited in an investigation report as “one of the biggest causes of governance failure.”

The report, compiled by a panel set up by the agency, said Kitagawa, who died in 2019, had abused hundreds of victims. It also said agency officials must have known what he was doing, but they did nothing to stop him.

The Sept. 7 news conference did little to convince the business community that the agency was truly repentant.

“We didn’t expect the company to retain its name,” said a senior official of a major television station, which kept using the agency’s entertainers in programs. “We can’t afford to continue (with this setup).”

Takeshi Niinami, chairman of Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives), said, “The agency should seriously consider how the victims feel.”

According to Teikoku Databank Ltd., a private research company, 33 of 65 listed companies that use the agency’s entertainers in advertisements were reviewing the arrangements.

The shift away from the agency forced Johnny & Associates to acknowledge its failure and take more decisive action.

“How inward-looking we were and how wrong we were,” Higashiyama said Oct. 2 about the earlier news conference.

STILL CAUTIOUS

Companies that are reviewing their advertising contracts with entertainers from the agency closely watched the Oct. 2 news conference.

“There is no change in our stance,” Aflac Life Insurance Japan Ltd., which decided to terminate its advertising contract with a Johnny’s entertainer, said in a statement after the news conference. “We plan to end our contracts with the agency.”

Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare Co. did not say if it would renew its contracts with agency members.

“Since the (previous) news conference, various measures have been taken,” the company said. “We will continue to strongly seek victim relief and preventative measures against a recurrence, as well as consideration for the entertainers belonging to the agency.”

Nissan Motor Co. is also cautious about resuming its contracts.

“We will keep a close eye on the reforms and efforts to prevent a recurrence announced by the agency and make appropriate decisions regarding our future marketing activities,” the automaker said.

(This article was written by Takumi Terui and Bunna Takizawa.)