Photo/Illutration The headquarters of Smile-Up Inc., the former Johnny & Associates Inc., in Tokyo’s Minato Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Two Japanese men have filed a lawsuit in the United States seeking compensation for sexual abuse committed by Johnny Kitagawa, the late founder of the talent agency Johnny & Associates Inc.

Kyohei Iida, 37, and Junya Tanaka, 43, both reside in Japan but filed the lawsuit in Nevada on Dec. 18, since they allege the sexual assaults took place in Las Vegas. Both victims were teenagers at the time.

“I hope this lawsuit can serve as a catalyst to transform Japan’s outdated legal system and societal awareness of human rights,” Tanaka said in a statement released by their lawyers. 

The two men are seeking a total of $300 million (about 47 billion yen) from Smile-Up Inc. and Starto Entertainment Inc., companies that were set up after Johnny and Associates was disbanded, as well as former company executives, including Julie Keiko Fujishima, Kitagawa’s niece who once served as president of the talent agency.

Smile-Up was established to provide compensation to the hundreds of former talent agency members who had been sexually assaulted by Kitagawa, while Starto Entertainment took over the talent management side of the company.

According to the lawsuit, Tanaka was 15 when he was sexually assaulted by Kitagawa in a Las Vegas hotel room in 1997.

Iida was 14 when he was allegedly sexually assaulted in 2002.

The two companies that are defendants in the lawsuit argued that they should not be held accountable to provide compensation.

A Smile-Up official said, “We believe a U.S. court would not have jurisdiction in such matters because the plaintiffs lived in Japan at that time. We will consult with our lawyers in the United States to decide how to proceed.”

Noting that there is no capital relationship with Smile-Up and that the two companies are separate, independent entities, a Starto Entertainment official said, “There is no reason for our company to be subject to a lawsuit. It is very regrettable that such a step was taken without an adequate understanding of the facts of how our company was established.”

But Kazuko Ito, a lawyer and expert on sexual violence lawsuits in the United States, said that filling the case in Nevada could have a major impact.

She explained that the U.S. court could provide a more transparent process and establish clear compensation figures, compared to the closed, secretive nature of the decisions made by Smile-Up.

Ito also noted that many U.S. states have moved to abolish or extend the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits related to sexual crimes in recent years.

Smile-Up released figures on Dec. 13 showing that 1,008 individuals had submitted claims for damage suffered and that agreement had been reached with 538 to provide compensation. The company had also decided not to provide compensation to 215 applicants.

Iida and Tanaka released statements through their lawyers explaining why they decided to file the lawsuit.

Iida explained that the power structure in the entertainment industry silences victims.

“In Japan today, raising one’s voice as a victim requires tremendous courage and comes with significant risks,” he said. “I want to send a message to others who are suffering from similar abuse: You are not alone.”

Tanaka said, “The memories would return as flashbacks, nightmares that haunted me. I came to realize that this suffering will stay with me for the rest of my life. I sincerely hope that no one else will ever have to endure the same agony.”

(This article was written by Daisuke Igarashi in San Francisco and Amane Shimazaki in Tokyo.)

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