A group investigating sexual assault allegations by the late founding father of a robust expertise company for boy bands has discovered the fees credible, calling Tuesday for compensation for the victims and the resignation of the present chief government.
The three-month probe, which included talking with 23 victims, concluded that Johnny Kitagawa sexually assaulted and abused boys way back to the Fifties and focused no less than a number of hundred folks.
The investigative panel mentioned Johnny & Associates should apologize, strengthen compliance measures and educate its ranks about human rights. Julie Keiko Fujishima, the chief government, should resign for not taking motion over time, in response to the particular group. Kitagawa died in 2019 and was by no means charged.
“The company’s coverup led to the sexual abuse continuing unchecked for so long,” investigative group chief Makoto Hayashi informed reporters in Tokyo. “There were many opportunities to take action.”
Critics say what occurred at Johnny’s, because the Tokyo-based firm is understood, highlights Japan’s lagging consciousness about rape, sexual harassment and human rights. Public opinion has usually been unsympathetic towards individuals who say they had been focused by sexual predators.
In the Johnny’s case, a few dozen males have come ahead in latest months to allege sexual abuse by Kitagawa, the company’s founder, whereas performing as teenagers. More individuals are anticipated to come back ahead, the report mentioned.
Fujishima has thus far solely apologized in a short on-line video for “disappointment and worries ” over the case. It is unclear whether or not she is going to resign.
While rumors of abuse at Johnny’s circulated over time and a number of other tell-all books have been printed, Japan’s mainstream media remained silent.
Serious questions resurfaced this yr after BBC News produced a particular section targeted on a number of individuals who claimed to be Kitagawa’s victims.
Another turning level got here earlier this month when the U.N. Working Group on Business and Human Rights urged the Japanese authorities to take motion. The group additionally accused Japan’s mainstream media of what it known as “a cover-up.”
According to the allegations, Kitagawa requested fledgling singers and dancers, lots of them kids, to remain at his luxurious dwelling. When he informed certainly one of them to go to mattress early, everybody knew it was “your turn,” those that have spoken up informed the panel.
The boys had been raped by Kitagawa after they had been 14 or 15 and given 10,000 yen payments afterward, the report mentioned. It added that the victims feared they might be penalized in the event that they refused.
It recommends extra folks come ahead, guarantees that their privateness will likely be protected and that no materials proof of a sexual assault will likely be required.
Those who’ve spoken out say they’ve been painfully traumatized, unable to inform anybody, even household, and nonetheless undergo flashbacks and despair, the report mentioned.
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