Japan Press Weekly

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2023 September 13 - 19 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

JCP hears from victims of sexual abuse by founder of male J-pop idol agency

A Japanese Communist Party Dietmembers' team dealing with the issue of sexual abuse in the entertainment industry heard stories from three victims of sexual abuse by the late Johnny Kitagawa, the founder of male J-pop idol agency Johnny & Associates Inc., in the Diet building on September 12.

Team leader Kira Yoshiko (House of Councilors), team secretary Miyamoto Takeshi (House of Representatives), JCP Secretariate Head Koike Akira (House of Councilors), JCP Vice Chair Tamura Tomoko (House of Councilors), and eleven more JCP Dietmembers attended the hearing.

The three victims, who represent the Johnny's Sexual Assault Victims Association, talked about what Kitagawa had done to them when they were in their early teens.

They said: "We hope Diet discussions will be held to abolish the statute of limitation on sexual violence," "If a third-party consultation service had existed, we may have talked about what was actually happening to us," and "There was no proper contract in writing. It was just a verbal promise. The agency admitted to the allegation of sexual abuse by the late founder, but the government is ignoring this issue. We want you to press the government to address the issue in the Diet."

Kira in response said, "Relief of victims, such as providing compensation and abolishing the statute of limitation, is important. Ignoring the truth in the past as if nothing happened is absolutely impermissible. JCP Dietmembers will take up the issue in the Diet."

Past related articles:
> 40K signatures submitted to Diet to prevent child sexual abuse[June 6, 2023]
> JCP urges Cultural Affairs Agency to tackle harassment and violence issues in arts, culture, and entertainment fields [June 3, 2023]
> Grooming is sexual abuse [April 21, 2023]