Following Johnny & Associates, Japan’s premier talent agency, issuing an apology on Thursday for decades of sexual abuses perpetrated by its late founder, local broadcasters have extended their own apologies for their failure to report on these allegations for many years.
The sexual abuses carried out by Johnny Kitagawa, the visionary behind beloved Japanese boy bands like SMAP and Arashi, were initially reported by the local tabloid Shukan Bunshun as early as 1999. Despite Kitagawa’s legal action against the magazine, major media outlets chose to steer clear of covering the lawsuit or pursuing the story further.
It was not until the BBC from Britain broadcast a comprehensive documentary in March, four years after Kitagawa’s passing at the age of 87, that local mass media finally followed suit, sparking nationwide outrage.
“Reports regarding this issue had been consistently featured in weekly magazines and various publications, and the Tokyo High Court had affirmed the fact of sexual assault as early as 2004,” public broadcaster NHK stated on Thursday.
“However, NHK’s awareness regarding this issue was lacking, and we did not pursue in-depth reporting or choose to address it,” the statement acknowledged, along with a commitment to make improvements.
A third-party committee established to investigate these allegations reported last week that Kitagawa had sexually abused hundreds of boys and young men, while also faulting the media for their silence.
Kauan Okamoto, a victim of Kitagawa’s abuse, admitted that he had been unaware of these allegations before joining the agency because they were scarcely reported.
Other major broadcasters, including NTV, TV Asahi, and Fuji TV, also issued statements pledging to do better.
“The media’s handling of the issue of sexual assault is also under scrutiny (in this case),” TV Asahi remarked. “We will take the voices of victims, the findings of the (third-party team), and the feedback and suggestions of our viewers seriously, and incorporate them into our future broadcasts and activities.”
