THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
December 29, 2023 at 14:43 JST
A building of the former Johnny & Associates Inc. in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on Nov. 5 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Smile-Up Inc., the talent agency formerly known as Johnny & Associates Inc., said it has paid compensation to 115 victims of sexual abuse perpetrated by company founder Johnny Kitagawa.
The company’s website showed that 907 people had applied for compensation as of Dec. 28, saying they were sexually molested by Kitagawa, who died in 2019 at age 87.
The victims’ relief committee established by the company notified 163 of the 907 claimants of the compensation, and 126 agreed to the details.
The company did not disclose the amounts that were paid to the 115 people.
The amount of compensation is being calculated by the victims’ relief committee, which consists of three lawyers who are former judges.
As of Nov. 30, 23 of Kitagawa’s victims had been compensated, the company said earlier.
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