Johnny and Associates President Julie Fujishima Quits Over Japan Talent Agency Sex Abuse Scandal
variety.comPatrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Fujishima ‘Julie’ Keiko has quit as president of Johnny and Associates, the Japanese talent agency that is embroiled in a poisonous child sex abuse scandal.
The alleged abuses were committed over several decades by company founder the late Johnny Kitagawa, Fujishima’s uncle, two external reports have found.
Some of the boys were still of elementary school age when they were allegedly abused. Fujishima will be replaced as president by actor Higashiyama Noriyuki, a long-term employee of the powerhouse agency and host of the TV Asahi show “Sunday LIVE!!” The company held a press conference on Thursday to announce the leadership change and take press questions over its responses and remedies to the scandal.
During the event, both Higashiyama and Fujishima acknowledged that Kitagawa committed acts of sexual abuse against young agency talents prior to his death at age 87 in 2019.
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