Julie Keiko Fujishima announced she was stepping down as president of Johnny & Associates, the talent agency founded by her late uncle, Johnny Kitagawa. She said the alleged sexual abuse had really happened and that she would stay on the company's board to see through a victim compensation program."This is what my uncle committed, and as a niece, I want to take responsibility," Fujishima said solemnly.
At one point, she choked down tears, stressing the achievements of the singers and dancers that the talent agency known as Johnny's represented and promoted.Kitagawa had been so powerful she, and many others, had kept silent, she added. Kitagawa was behind dozens of popular boy bands in Japan, starting in the 1960s. He died in 2019 and was never charged.
Many of the victims were members of a backup group called Johnny's Jr., who danced and sang behind bigger stars. One man who came forward recently said he was routinely molested when Kitagawa had yet to found his company. He was just 8 years old.