Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates Chief Julie K. Fujishima and its new Chief Noriyuki Higashiyama bow to express their apology during a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, September 7, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
TOKYO: J-pop talent agency Johnny & Associates Inc will spin off operations of its main company to establish a separate entity focusing on talent management, the Nikkei reports.
The Japanese, family-held firm will focus on compensation for hundreds of victims an investigation concluded were sexually abused by its late founder, Johnny Kitagawa, over more than four decades, Nikkei said.
The agency – whose name is better known than many of its individual stars – recently acknowledged it failed to stop Kitagawa’s serial sexual abuse.
Two of Japan’s top beer companies, Suntory Holdings Ltd and Kirin Holdings Co, said last month they would cut commercial ties with the agency, the nation’s biggest.
Julie Keiko Fujishima, the founder’s niece, resigned in September following the investigation, which found the music impresario’s abuse occurred between the early 1970s and mid-2010s. — Bloomberg
