Photo/Illutration Junya Tanaka, left, and Yukihiro Oshima, both former Johnny’s Jr. members, attend a news conference in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward on Feb. 6. (Amane Shimazaki)

Smile-Up Inc. has sued victims of sexual abuse by show-business mogul Johnny Kitagawa, arguing that the company should not be held liable for paying damages if they reject its compensation framework.

The lawsuit was filed at the Tokyo District Court by the company that was formerly the Johnny & Associates Inc. talent agency.

The four defendants in the lawsuit have been recognized as victims of Kitagawa, the agency’s founder who died in 2019, but they have not accepted compensation packages under the framework established by Smile-Up’s victims relief committee.

The victims’ side held a news conference in Tokyo on Feb. 6, criticizing the company’s action as “contrary to what it has advocated: ‘being there for the victims.’”

Two of the men are Junya Tanaka, 43, and Kyohei Iida, 37, both former members of Johnny’s Jr., a pre-debut idol group in the agency.

They sued Smile-Up in Nevada on Dec. 18, 2024, saying they were sexually assaulted by Kitagawa in Las Vegas when they were teenagers.

They are seeking a total of $300 million (47 billion yen) in damages from the company and related people.

The other two defendants are Yukihiro Oshima, 39, a former member of Johnny’s Jr., and Yasunobu Shiga, 56, a former member of idol group Ninja.

According to the company and lawyers of the victims, three of the defendants have rejected the compensation framework of the relief committee and could not reach an agreement in mediations with the company.

Smile-Up’s lawsuit said the three victims’ refusal to accept the framework should absolve the company of paying compensation to them.

For the other victim, the company is seeking confirmation that it has no obligation to pay more than the amount of compensation offered by the relief committee.

At the news conference, Tanaka emphasized that Smile-Up’s lawsuit was filed shortly after it became clear that the company had been sued in the United States.

“It is too vicious to file a lawsuit against victims out of the blue,” Tanaka said. “I think other victims are worried that they will also be sued by (the company).”

Oshima said Smile-Up appears intent on ending the issue of sexual abuse and compensation as soon as possible.

“Is this really what (the company) means when it says, ‘We will act in a way that is close to the victims’?” he asked.

Yuko Atsumi, a lawyer representing the victims, said Smile-Up is unilaterally imposing its own framework on the victims.

She also said the lawsuit could be a means of preventing victims from taking legal action in the United States.

A representative of Smile-Up told The Asahi Shimbun that the company intends to proceed with compensation payments in accordance with decisions of the victims relief committee.

“In order to ensure fairness among the victims, Smile-Up cannot increase or decrease the amount of compensation at its sole discretion, and it must leave the matter to the court’s judgment,” the representative said.

The representative stressed that the four victims have either not responded to the compensation framework or refused to agree on the amount.

“We have filed the lawsuit because as long as the other parties are seeking compensation, we have a responsibility to seek a resolution,” the representative said.

Regarding the lawsuit filed in Nevada, the representative said: “Since this is a claim for compensation from residents of Japan against a Japanese company, the U.S. court has no jurisdiction over it. We believe that it is appropriate to settle the case in a Japanese court.”

Smile-Up filed an earlier lawsuit against a victim of Kitagawa at the Saitama District Court.

In November 2024, the company sued Shimon Ishimaru, 57, former deputy chief of the Johnny’s Sexual Assault Victims Association, which was dissolved in September 2024.

The company is seeking confirmation that it does not have to pay more than 18 million yen in damages to Ishimaru, the figure proposed by the victims relief committee.

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