Japanese Talent Agency Johnny & Associates to Split Following Scandal Against Founder

Japanese talent agency and entertainment giant Johnny & Associates, known locally as Johnny's, will be splitting up the company following abuse allegations against its late founder Johnny Kitagawa.

During a press conference in Tokyo on Monday, the current president of Johnny's Noriyuki Higashiyama announced that the company will split into two.

Higashiyama details that the current company will be named Smile-Up, which will dedicate its efforts to compensate Kitagawa's numerous victims of historical misconduct.

Meanwhile, a new unnamed company will manage the company's current roster of talents. Higashiyama says that naming the new company is tasked to the members of the agency's fan base.

Uncovering Johnny's historical abuse allegations

The company split comes after Johnny employed an external committee to investigate historical abuse allegation reports against Kitagawa, who died of a stroke in July 2019 at 87 years old. As of September 30, 478 alleged victims surfaced from the investigation, with 325 of them demanding compensation from the company.

The investigation also uncovered that the victims were as young as elementary school boys who wanted to join the talent agency.

Sexual harassment allegations against Kitagawa go as far back as 1965 when the parents of four boys attempted to sue the Japanese entertainment giant. Even more, allegations surfaced against Kitagawa during the late 80s to the early 90s, when numerous accounts from former talents of the agency disclosed the abuse they went through in the company through autobiographies.

In 1999, the Japanese tabloid Shukan Bunshun published a ten-part series that described in detail the abuse that multiple alleged victims of Kitagawa went through. Kitagawa successfully sued and won the case for libel, but the decision was later overturned by the Tokyo High Court since they deemed that the allegations were mostly true.

However, it did not affect the company's affairs, as their boy bands such as SMAP, Arashi and Shonentai helped propel the popularity of J-pop worldwide just as the allegations were surfacing. When he died, the Japanese entertainment industry largely credited Kitagawa's efforts as a remarkable feat. Late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered his condolences after Kitagawa's passing in July 2019.

Johnny's would face these historical allegations again last March, when BBC aired Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop. The documentary provided an in-depth exploration of how Kitagawa manipulated his victims in the music industry. The airing of the investigation prompted Kitagawa's alleged victims to speak up against the media mogul.

Former member of Johnny's Jr. Kauan Okamoto disclosed in a press conference that he was abused by Kitagawa when he was 15 to 20 years old. However, he said that he understood the situation, saying that "if you don't go to [Kitagawa's] mansion, you won't become a star".

Compensation for victims

During the press conference on Monday, Higashiyama unveiled plans to begin compensation for Kitagawa and the company's victims this November. Once Smile Up concludes the compensation efforts, Higashiyama says that the company will close down.

Higashiyama also said that he wanted to continue managing the talent agency under a different name, a contrast to what he previously stated in an earlier press conference on September 7.

The September 7 press conference saw the public resignation of former Johnny's president and Kitagawa's biological niece, Julie Keiko Fujishima. Higashiyama said in this press conference that the company is adamant about retaining Johnny's name.

Johnny's consequences

Kitagawa's alleged victims were not happy about the company's development towards the issue. Former Johnny's dancer, singer and Johnny's Sexual Assault Victims Association member Shinichi Kimura said in an interview with the Tokyo Shimbun that it is distasteful of Johnny's executives to intend to run another talent company under their leadership.

Another member of the JSAVA, under the pseudonym "Izumi", said that the name Smile Up is an insult to their plight as Kitagawa's alleged victims.

Johnny's also did not escape the backlash from corporate giants. Japanese industry leaders like Asahi Group Holdings and Nissan announced that they will withdraw advertisements that employ the use of Johnny's talents.

Meanwhile, Japanese public broadcast media company NHK says that they will refrain from employing performers from Johnny's until compensation for victims is resolved.