NEVADA (TR) – Two former entertainers for the agency formerly known as Johnny & Associates have filed a lawsuit in a court here over alleged sexual assaults by the former president Johnny Kitagawa at a hotel in Las Vegas.
Junya Tanaka and Kyohei Iida, both of whom were members of Johnny & Associates, are seeking a total of 300 million dollars, or 46 billion yen, in damages from Japanese firm Smile-Up., the current name of the agency.
Various other persons and companies, including Starto Entertainment, which now handles the business of Johnny & Associates, are also listed in the suit, reports Nippon News Network (Dec. 20).
According to the lawsuit, Tanaka claims that he was sexually assaulted by former president Johnny Kitagawa at a hotel and other locations in Las Vegas in 1997, when he was 15 years old. Iida also claims that he was sexually assaulted by the former president at the same hotel in 2002, when he was 14 years old.
In response to this, a representative from Smile-Up. commented, “We will continue to consult with American lawyers and take appropriate action.”
A representative from Starto Entertainment said, “We are unrelated to this matter and see no reason for us to be sued. So, we are very confused.”
“Predator”
For decades, Kitagawa trained young boys to become stars within his agency Johnny & Associates. Last year, the BBC documentary “Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop” shed light on sexual abuse carried out by Kitagawa. As a result, the company changed its name to Smile-Up. and set up a consultation desk for the victims.
For over 50 years, Japan’s media failed to report on the sexual abuse carried out by Kitagawa despite victims having come forward. This failure continued even after Kitagawa died in 2019.
The BBC documentary said that the reason for the lapse was Kitagawa’s immense power he wielded over the media, whose outlets used his stars in their programming.
