Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop

File:Johnny & Associates (53332520302).jpg (pictured in 2023) is a talent company created by Johnny Kitagawa.]]

Japanese record producer Johnny Kitagawa, the founder of the talent company Johnny & Associates and an influential figure in the J-pop idol industry, remains highly regarded in Japan after his death in 2019 despite previous allegations of sexual abuse towards the acts managed by his company and was never criminally charged for them.{{cite news | first=Jennifer | last=Zhan | url=https://www.vulture.com/article/johnny-kitagawa-johnnys-sex-abuse-allegations-explained.html | title=The Most Powerful Man in J-Pop's Sex-Abuse Scandal, Explained | work=Vulture | date=7 October 2023 | access-date=18 March 2024 | archive-date=4 January 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104215219/https://www.vulture.com/article/johnny-kitagawa-johnnys-sex-abuse-allegations-explained.html | url-status=live }} In addition, Kitagawa's allegations went widely unreported in Japanese mainstream media. British journalist Mobeen Azhar travels to Japan to investigate why public opinion of him is still favourable.{{cite news | first=Mobeen | last=Azhar | authorlink=Mobeen Azhar | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64837855 | title=Japan's J-pop predator - exposed for abuse but still revered | work=BBC | date=6 March 2023 | access-date=18 March 2024 | archive-date=3 April 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403070103/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64837855 | url-status=live }}

Azhar first discusses the influence that Kitagawa and Johnny & Associates have on Japanese media. Entertainers from Johnny & Associates are prolific in television, film, music, and even advertisements. Young boys are accepted into the company as trainees known as Johnny's Jr., with Kitagawa's opinion ultimately determining whether they would debut. Azhar interviews {{ill|Ryutaro Nakamura (journalist)|lt=Ryutaro Nakamura|ja|中村竜太郎}},{{cite news | first=Soichiro | last=Matsutani | url=https://globe.asahi.com/article/14867336 | title=ジャニーズ事務所のメディアコントロール手法 「沈黙の螺旋」は破られるのか | trans-title=Will the "spiral of silence", Johnny & Associates' method of controlling media, ever be broken? | language=ja | work=Globe+ | publisher=The Asahi Shimbun | date=30 March 2023 | access-date=18 March 2024 | archive-date=7 December 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207140626/https://globe.asahi.com/article/14867336 | url-status=live }} the journalist who published Kitagawa's sexual abuse allegations in the magazine Shūkan Bunshun in 1999,{{cite news | first1=James | last1=Oaten | first2=Yumi | last2=Asada | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-11/j-pop-mogul-johnny-kitagawa-alleged-sex-crimes-covered-up/102076058 | title=J-pop mogul Johnny Kitagawa was accused of sexually assaulting young boys in his care, but even in death, he was protected | work=ABC TV | date=10 March 2023 | access-date=18 March 2024 | archive-date=16 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316051825/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-11/j-pop-mogul-johnny-kitagawa-alleged-sex-crimes-covered-up/102076058 | url-status=live }} as well as the attorney representing Shūkan Bunshun in their lawsuit with Johnny & Associates. Azhar states that Kitagawa would blacklist any media outlet that provided unfavourable coverage on himself, Johnny & Associates, or the company's entertainers. He calls Johnny & Associates to arrange an interview with {{ill|Julie Keiko Fujishima|ja|藤島ジュリー景子}}, Kitagawa's niece and the current CEO of the agency, but they decline his request.

Azhar interviews four former Johnny's Jrs: an anonymous man known as "Hayashi", Junya Hiramoto, Ryu Takahashi,{{cite news | url=https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14908268 | title=Ex-idol: Johnny's apology over sex scandal an act of desperation | work=The Asahi Shimbun | date=15 May 2023 | access-date=18 March 2024 | archive-date=26 May 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526195402/https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14908268 | url-status=live }} and Ren. The interviewees all stated that it was known and expected of them to put up with Kitagawa's advances if it meant they could debut. While only one interviewee recognises his experiences as assault, the others stated that despite Kitagawa's actions, they still see him favourably. Azhar also visits and interviews Nobuki Yamaguchi, a therapist focused on sexual trauma against male victims, where they discuss how grooming, Japan's "culture of shame", and previous laws against male-on-male sexual assault prevent male survivors from recognising their abuse.

Towards the end of his trip, Azhar attempts to interview Fujishima again by personally going to Johnny & Associates, but he is turned away and asked to stop filming. Azhar later contacts Fujishima again in writing, and she responds with a statement that the company was "working to establish highly transparent organisational structures." Azhar comments that law and media insiders had refused to comment, and that even in death, Kitagawa remains protected.

Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop was written and reported by Mobeen Azhar, with Megumi Inman in charge of directing. Azhar started researching the topic in 2019 following Kitagawa's death.{{cite magazine | first=Rhian | last=Daly | url=https://www.rollingstone.co.uk/music/johnny-kitagawa-how-j-pop-founder-faced-decades-of-sexual-abuse-allegations-27412/ | title=Johnny Kitagawa: J-pop founder who faced decades of sexual abuse allegations | magazine=Rolling Stone UK | date=7 March 2023 | access-date=18 March 2024 | archive-date=12 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312232106/https://www.rollingstone.co.uk/music/johnny-kitagawa-how-j-pop-founder-faced-decades-of-sexual-abuse-allegations-27412/ | url-status=live }} Throughout production of this documentary, Azhar and Inman stated that, with the exception of Shūkan Bunshun, Japanese media and industry professionals generally declined to talk to them, and they were advised multiple times not to create the documentary.{{cite journal | first=David | last=McNeill | url=https://apjjf.org/2023/5/mcneill | title=Johnny Kitagawa and the Code of Omerta in Japanese Entertainment | journal=The Asia-Pacific Journal | date=15 May 2023 | volume=21 | issue=5 | access-date=18 March 2024}}{{cite web | first=Tony | last=McNicol | url=https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g02308/ | title=Secret No More: BBC Documentary Brings Fresh Attention to a J-Pop Scandal | work=Nippon | date=25 July 2023 | access-date=18 March 2024 | archive-date=16 December 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216120725/https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g02308/ | url-status=live }}

Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop was first broadcast on 7 March 2023 on BBC Two as part of the documentary television series This World, as well on their website, to residents in the United Kingdom.{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001jw7y | title=Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop | work=BBC Two | access-date=18 March 2024 | archive-date=8 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308143207/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001jw7y | url-status=live }}{{cite web | first=Hollie | last=Richardson | url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/mar/07/tv-tonight-the-secret-sexual-abuse-allegations-in-japanese-pop | title=TV tonight: the secret sexual abuse allegations in Japanese pop | work=The Guardian | date=7 March 2023 | access-date=18 March 2024 | archive-date=10 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410112118/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/mar/07/tv-tonight-the-secret-sexual-abuse-allegations-in-japanese-pop | url-status=live }} It was broadcast in Australia on 10 April 2023 on ABC TV as part of the documentary television series Four Corners.{{cite web | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-06/predator:-the-secret-scandal-of-j-pop/102196782 | title=Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop | work=ABC TV | date=6 April 2023 | access-date=18 March 2024 | archive-date=7 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407023312/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-06/predator:-the-secret-scandal-of-j-pop/102196782 | url-status=live }}

In Japan, the documentary was broadcast through BBC World News Japan on 18 and 19 March 2023.{{cite web | first1=Jake | last1=Adelstein | author-link1=Jake Adelstein | first2=Amy | last2=Yoshida-Plambeck | url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/bbc-insiders-says-japanese-not-willing-to-show-documentary-expose-on-johnny-kitagawa | title=BBC Insider Says Japanese Not 'Willing' to Air Exposé on Prolific Pop Pedophile | work=The Daily Beast | date=19 June 2023 | access-date=18 March 2024 | archive-date=2 March 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240302024528/https://www.thedailybeast.com/bbc-insiders-says-japanese-not-willing-to-show-documentary-expose-on-johnny-kitagawa | url-status=live }} The Daily Beast reported Japanese television networks were reluctant to broadcast it, leading to the BBC to broadcast it themselves. The only Japanese streaming service to do so was Hulu Japan out of contractual obligations with the BBC, though its parent company, Nippon TV, was in a "panic" about the broadcast.

A follow-up programme, "Our World: The Shadow of a Predator", aired in April 2024.{{Cite web |title=Our World -The Shadow of a Predator |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001wwc8 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240327221746/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001wwc8 |archive-date=27 March 2024 |access-date=27 March 2024 |website=BBC}}

The Guardian rated Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop three stars out of five, praising the documentary but criticising Azhar's reactions to some of his interviews and his frustration in attempts to contact Julie Keiko Fujishima.{{cite news | first=Lucy | last=Mangan | url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/mar/07/predator-the-secret-scandal-of-j-pop-review-japan-johnny-kitagawa | title=Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop review – a breathtaking look at Japan's paedophile boyband 'god' | work=The Guardian | date=7 March 2023 | access-date=18 March 2024 | archive-date=2 October 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002211243/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/mar/07/predator-the-secret-scandal-of-j-pop-review-japan-johnny-kitagawa | url-status=live }}

Azhar and Inman won the Freedom of the Press 2023 Award from the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan for their work on the film.{{cite news | first=Eric | last=Johnson | url=https://www.fccj.or.jp/number-1-shimbun-article/solidarity-voiceless | title=Journalists in the U.K., Japan, Palestinian territories and China honored at FCCJ Freedom of the Press awards ceremony | work=Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan | date=August 2023 | accessdate=2024-03-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821034022/https://www.fccj.or.jp/number-1-shimbun-article/solidarity-voiceless |archive-date=21 August 2023 }}

{{Main|Johnny Kitagawa sexual abuse scandal}}

For decades, Kitagawa's allegations went widely unreported in Japanese media; however, following the release of Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop, the documentary prompted widespread international coverage, which later pressured Japanese media into acknowledging them.{{cite news | first=Justin | last=McCurry | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/05/pressure-builds-on-johnny-kitagawas-j-pop-agency-to-address-abuse-claims | title=Pressure builds on Johnny Kitagawa's J-pop agency to address abuse claims | work=The Guardian | date=2023-06-05 | accessdate=2024-03-18 | archive-date=7 September 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907230921/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/05/pressure-builds-on-johnny-kitagawas-j-pop-agency-to-address-abuse-claims | url-status=live }} On 5 April 2023, Shūkan Bunshun published an article where former Johnny's Jr. member Kauan Okamoto stated that he had been sexually abused by Kitagawa between 2012 and 2016.{{cite news | first=Nicholas | last=Yong | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-65259427 | title=Johnny Kitagawa: Ex-pop star Kauan Okamoto details sexual abuse by famed producer |publisher=BBC News | date=13 April 2023 | access-date=18 March 2024 | archive-date=7 October 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007082242/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-65259427 | url-status=live }} Okamoto stated that he was encouraged to come forward with his experience after the documentary's release. Okamoto was invited to speak at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan on 13 April 2023. On 14 May 2023, Julie Keiko Fujishima posted a written apology and a video apologizing for causing "disappointment and anxiety", but she also stated that Johnny & Associates could not confirm whether the allegations were true.

Following Okamoto's statement, several other victims revealed Kitagawa had also sexually abused them, leading to Johnny & Associates launching an independent investigation of the company.{{cite news | first1=Shaimaa | last1=Khalil | first2=Derek | last2=Cai | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66737052 | title=Johnny Kitagawa: J-pop agency boss resigns over predator's abuse | work=BBC | date=2023-09-07 | accessdate=2024-03-18 | archive-date=10 October 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231010205832/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66737052 | url-status=live }} On 7 August 2023, the investigation found that Kitagawa had sexually abused hundreds of boys over the span of 50 years, and that his sister and former Johnny & Associates vice president, {{ill|Mary Yasuko Fujishima|ja|メリー喜多川}}, had covered for his behaviour.{{cite news | first=Gavin J | last=Blair | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/johnny-kitagawa-sexual-abuse-scandal-un-report-1235558316/ | title=U.N. Report Blasts Response to Johnny Kitagawa Sexual Abuse Scandal | work=The Hollywood Reporter | date=2023-08-07 | accessdate=2024-03-18 | archive-date=8 August 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230808035156/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/johnny-kitagawa-sexual-abuse-scandal-un-report-1235558316/ | url-status=live }}{{cite magazine | first=Jon | last=Blistein | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/johnny-kitagawa-japan-talent-agent-abuse-1234815131/ | title=Japanese Pop Mogul Abused Hundreds of Boys, Investigation Finds | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=2023-08-30 | accessdate=2024-03-18 | archive-date=7 October 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007082204/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/johnny-kitagawa-japan-talent-agent-abuse-1234815131/ | url-status=live }}{{cite news | first1=Hisako | last1=Ueno | first2=Ben | last2=Dooley | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/07/business/japan-boyband-sexual-abuse.html | title=Japanese Talent Agency Admits Founder Preyed on Boys in Its Care | work=New York Times | date=2023-09-07 | accessdate=2024-03-18 | archive-date=17 January 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117034208/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/07/business/japan-boyband-sexual-abuse.html | url-status=live }} On 7 September 2023, Julie Keiko Fujishima stepped down as CEO of Johnny & Associates and acknowledged the abuse that took place.{{cite news | first1=Francis | last1=Tang | first2=Maki | last2=Shiraki | first3=Kantaro | last3=Komiya | url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japans-johnny-kitagawa-sex-abuse-scandal-forces-shake-up-j-pop-agency-2023-09-07/ | title=Niece of Japan's Johnny Kitagawa resigns from J-pop agency, apologises for his abuse | work=Reuters | date=2023-09-07 | accessdate=2024-03-18 | archive-date=19 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119120628/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japans-johnny-kitagawa-sex-abuse-scandal-forces-shake-up-j-pop-agency-2023-09-07/ | url-status=live }} Several brands, including Asahi Group Holdings, Kirin Holdings Company, and Suntory Holdings Limited, announced they would not be renewing contracts with any entertainer associated with Johnny & Associates.{{cite news | url=https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15003467 | title=Advertisers cutting ties with Johnny's over sexual abuse | work=The Asahi Shimbun | date=2023-09-12 | accessdate=2024-03-18 | archive-date=13 February 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213053630/https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15003467 | url-status=live }}

{{reflist}}

• {{official website|https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001jw7y}}

{{Johnny & Associates}}

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