Japan’s idol godfather Janice avoids acknowledging his apology for alleged sexual exploitation
The current president of Johnny’s office, a large Japanese entertainment agency, apologized for the alleged sexual exploitation of underage trainees by the late founder Johnny Kitagawa.
According to the Asahi Shimbun on the 15th, Jannis President Fujishima Julie Keiko released a written apology along with an apology video on the 14th.
In the video, he said, “First of all, I deeply apologize to those who are complaining of damage,” adding, “I also apologize again for causing great disappointment and anxiety to officials and fans.”
However, he was passive about the fact-finding. In a written apology, he said, “It is not easy to affirm whether individual charges are true or not because it cannot be confirmed with Johnny Kitagawa, the party,” adding, “We ask for your understanding because we also need to consider secondary damages such as slander by speculation.”
Fujishima said he would launch a compliance committee within his agency to recruit outside directors as a measure to prevent a recurrence.
However, it excluded the investigation through a third-party committee demanded by fans. “People who don’t want to talk can also be subject to investigation, so we decided to choose another way,” he explained. Some fans gathered about 16,000 signatures and delivered them to the agency on the 11th, demanding verification and investigation by a third party
Kitagawa, who died of a stroke in 2019, established the Janice office in 1962. Since then, he has been known as the one who has produced the most popular idols in Japan such as “Arashi,” “SMAP,” and “Kinky Kids.”
However, in March, the BBC aired the documentary “The Predator of Japan’s J-Pop,” revealing his dark side. The documentary contained allegations that he committed sex crimes against his trainee and talent for decades in his life
Gauan Okamoto, a singer from Johnny’s, also revealed at a press conference on the 12th of last month that he suffered 15 to 20 sexual damage from Kitagawa between 2012 and 2016 while working as Johnny’s Jr.
At the time, he said, “The first time I was 15 years old, a middle school senior. I’m grateful to Johnny, but I think it’s bad to do sexual activity at 15. I hope this will disappear from the Japanese entertainment industry now,” he said.
Meanwhile, the controversy is not expected to subside despite the agency’s official apology. Currently, fans are boycotting Johnny’s and Johnny’s sponsors who advertised their talents. In order to change the Japanese idol ecosystem, they said, “We have no choice but to show it by boycotting,” and insisted on the need for a boycott