Johnny & Associates held a press conference on September 7 regarding the sexual abuse allegations of former president Johnny Kitagawa and resignation of Julie Fujishima. Due to the investigations, whether or not Johnny’s talents should continue having appearances on television has been a topic of debate. In response to this press conference each of the 5 major television stations in Japan issued a statement about the actions they were going to take. TV Asahi, TBS, Fuji TV, NTV and NHK all responded that the appearance of Johnny’s talents in their programs will proceed as planned. Each station also included in their statements that they take human rights very seriously and will cooperate with the investigations.
In NHK’s statement, it was said that at the time because Johnny & Associates was so efficient at sweeping the issue under the rug, the station had little awareness of the allegations and regrets not covering it in depth on news programs. “While many of the victims were minors at the time, NHK did not fully fulfill its role as a media. We are self-reflecting and willing to do coverage reports and interviews to get closer to the truth.” Regarding the decision to continue using Johnny’s talents, the response was that suitable people were selected for the jobs according to the content and production of the programs.
Each television station revealed that they intend to work to improve the situation through proper communication with Johnny & Associates who will embark on reforms with new president Noriyuki Higashiyama and will continue to pay close attention to implementing effective measures to prevent recurrences of similar situations.
