Two more abusers at J-pop predator's company
By Mobeen Azhar
The man in charge of compensating sexual abuse victims of Japan’s most famous pop manager says the scandal goes further than first thought.
Noriyuki Higashiyama told the BBC he believes there were two more perpetrators at Johnny Kitagawa’s agency Johnny & Associates.
He believes these individuals are still alive.
Since a 2023 BBC investigation, nearly 1,000 men have come forward to say they were abused by Kitagawa.
Higashiyama told the BBC that an internal investigation by the former company in August 2023 had concluded that two people at Johnny & Associates were believed to have sexually abused talent.
He revealed that, to date, he has not contacted the authorities.
“From a legal standpoint, I don’t think we have the authority to do that,” Higashiyama says. “But if those involved file a criminal complaint, I imagine we would co-operate as much as possible.”
He says that he does not know if the survivors of abuse by the two perpetrators want to pursue criminal proceedings.
