The president of entertainment behemoth Johnny & Associates Inc. has issued a formal apology over the sexual assault claims against its late founder, Johnny Kitagawa, as former music personalities and others come forward over alleged incidents.
On Sunday, Julie K. Fujishima, the talent agency’s president and niece of the former president, issued an apology in a video and written statement on the company’s website in response to the allegations. The apology comes a month after Kauan Okamoto, a Japanese-Brazilian singer and songwriter, claimed Kitagawa sexually abused him as a teen.
Allegations by former male entertainers from the talent agency and others against the founder — who died four years ago — have made headlines both in domestic media and internationally, especially after the BBC aired a documentary on the issue.
“We deeply apologize to those that have claimed to be victims,” Fujishima said. “We take it very seriously that there are people who are said to have been affected right in before our eyes.”
Japanese-Brazilian singer Kauan Okamoto, a former member of Japanese idol group Johnny’s Junior, answers questions during a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo in April. | KYODO
She added that she was unaware of Kitagawa’s actions.
Fujishima said she spoke with Okamoto for a long time and realized that he came forward with his allegation because he didn’t want the same thing to happen again.
Asked how she would take responsibility for the incidents, Fujishima said that although she thought of resigning, she decided to stay in her position to work on measures to prevent a recurrence, including changing the mindset at the company.
“Accepting various tough opinions and having discussions with the members who belong to the company on what they want to do now and in the future — that is my way of taking responsibility,” Fujishima said.
