TOKYO (TR) – A victims’ association established to assist and compensate those sexually assaulted by the late pop mogul Johnny Kitagawa will disband since its relief and compensation goals have been achieved, the association has revealed.
On Tuesday, representatives from the Johnny’s Sexual Assault Victims’ Association said that it will cease on September 7, exactly one year after executives from Johnny and Associates acknowledged sexual abuse as perpetrated by founder Kitagawa, who died in 2019 at the age of 87.
In a joint statement issued by former representative Junya Hiramoto and deputy representative Shimon Ishimaru, said that they are satisfied with what they have done as far as assisting victims in regards to relief and compensation, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Sep. 3).
They explained in a joint statement, “Considering the progress to date, with around 500 people having reached agreement, we believe that the majority of what we have sought as an association has been achieved.”
For victims who have been unable to receive compensation or relief and are deemed “ineligible” or who are unsure how to report, the association said, “From now on, we will provide support to victims as individuals rather than as a group or organization.”
The association was established in June of last year, and began full-scale activities in July of the same year.
On September 7, 2023, Julie Fujishima resigned from her post as chief executive in light of the emergence of the scandal earlier that year. “Both the agency itself and I myself as a person recognise that sex abuse by Johnny Kitagawa took place,” she said.
Over 1,000 victims
For decades, Kitagawa trained young boys to become stars within his agency Johnny and 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.
According to SMILE-UP, more than 1,001 people had filed claims of sexual abuse by Kitagawa as of July 16.
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 the lapse was Kitagawa’s immense power he wielded over the media, whose outlets used his stars in their programming.
