The new president of Japan’s prime male expertise company Johnny & Associates Inc has instantly apologized to one of many agency’s former performers who got here ahead with an allegation that the corporate’s late founder sexually abused him when he was a teen.
“I’m sorry for the deep pain (we’ve) caused you,” Noriyuki Higashiyama, 56, instructed Yasushi Hashida on Thursday. Hashida, now a dancer and actor, revealed the apology in a message posted on X, the social media platform previously often called Twitter, the identical day.
Hashida, 38, stated he had hoped to reunite with Higashiyama, a veteran TV persona lengthy represented by the leisure big, below completely different circumstances however he was “struck the most” by the phrases of gratitude he acquired.
Hashida stated Higashiyama thanked him for “the chance to confront (the past) and change,” and added these remarks “offered me some healing.”
At the time the abuse is alleged to have taken place, Hashida was a part of Johnny’s Jr, a expertise pool of male idols in coaching who had but to make their debut in a gaggle or solo act. He has claimed he was sexually assaulted two instances when he was about 13 by Johnny Kitagawa, who died in 2019 at 87.
The allegations surrounding Kitagawa garnered worldwide consideration after the BBC aired a documentary in March. Several different former members of the company have since come ahead with allegations of sexual abuse by Kitagawa once they had been teenagers.
Earlier this month, Higashiyama, who himself has been pressured to disclaim allegations of sexual abuse, took over as company president after Julie Keiko Fujishima, niece of Kitagawa, stepped down after acknowledging her uncle’s sexual abuse and the company’s lack of motion to cease it.
The company has arrange a committee to supervise redress for victims and can report on Oct. 2 the outcomes of its discussions.
© KYODO