Johnny Kitagawa; Sexual Assault｜Learn Real English
Learn Real English ｜ Johnny Kitagawa
Johnny Kitagawa, founder/President of Johnny & Associates, the agency behind the assembly and management for numerous popular boy bands in Japan, has been accused, again, of sexually abusing under-aged male talent from his agency. Although Mr. Kitagawa passed away in 2019, new allegations of sexual misconduct with boys from Johnny’s Juniors has come to light.
Kauan Okamoto held a press conference to discuss what happened to him during his time in Johnny’s Juniors, the branch of the agency that manages talent ranging from ten to thirty years of age. In this lesson, we’re going to take a look at what was said, learn some of the key phrases, and how to use them.
日本で多くの人気あるボーイズバンドの結成やマネジメントを手掛けるジャニーズ事務所の創業者また社長であったジョニー喜多川氏が、所属する未成年の男性タレントに対し性的虐待があったことについて、再び責任を問われました。喜多川氏は2019年に他界していますが、新たにジャニーズ事務所の少年たちとの性犯罪の疑惑が浮上しました。
岡本カウアンさんが、10歳から30歳までのタレントをマネジメントしているジャニーズ事務所に在籍していた頃のことを、記者会見で語ってくれました。今回のレッスンでは、彼の発言内容をご案内し、そのなかから一緒に英語を勉強していきましょう。
Transcript ｜ Kauan Okamoto Press Conference
Um, I just wanted to ask, um, during your, I think, four years at Johnny’s Juniors, um, how widespread was the, um, abuse from Johnny Kitagawa from what you know about.
I mean, roughly how many boys abused by Johnny Kitagawa?
Thank you.
Transcript ｜ BBC Interview
How can you have a company based around an individual who is known to have committed these terrible acts?
They announced that Julie is stepping down and Noriyuki Higashiyama, and he’s one of their own actors, not from outside, will be new president.
It’s a problem if the person taking over has been part of the organization for a long time. Now, there are also allegations, as you’ll be aware, about the conduct of Higashiyama.
And so I don’t think they’re starting out with a clean slate. I think if they’re going to bring someone else into the company, it needs to be someone that hasn’t been associated with the company for many years.
Whilst Julie Fujishima is standing down as the CEO of the company, she still remains the 100% shareowner.
The reason Johnny Kitagawa was not challenged was because he has, he had, all the power. And actually, his company continues to have power today. That’s why he was not challenged.
That’s why so many journalists and so many editors were frightened of taking on this story.
Because as we know, Johnny & Associates, the company, even you know till’ very recently would rule with an iron fist.
So essentially if someone printed something that was negative about the company or if someone said something on TV that was negative about the company they had the ability to take away their talent. To say, “no, no. You can’t interview this star. This celebrity will not be on your network.”
All the power was in the hands of Johnny & Associates and ultimate power, as we know, is a corrupting force.
Transcript ｜ How It Started
He is god.
He is god?
He is god.
Why is he god?
Um…
That’s quite a big statement.
We tried several times to get answer from Johnny & Associates about the allegations and struggled to speak to anyone.
Eventually I went to their offices and I was met by one of the marketing team.
I believe we already replied to you. Please let any further communications be handled to the person who responded to the (unclear).
I hear what you’re saying but that’s not happening. I’m not getting a response at the moment.
They’ve replied to you already.
They’ve replied to say that they don’t want to respond to the allegations. That’s all they’ve said.
I’m very sorry. Any further conversations should go through them.
Um, so I want to speak to someone senior. I want to work out how we can make that happen. To be frank, I don’t think given the seriousness of the allegations, the fact that this relates to dozens of cases of young men.
Is that? This?
We were asked to stop filming.
The company’s CEO, Julie Keiko Fujishima, who’s also Kitagawa’s niece, later replied and said they are “working to establish highly transparent organizational structures adapting to the times in compliance with laws, regulations, and strengthened governance with impartial experts.”
In reporting this story, we contacted the police, entertainment reporters, music producers, newspapers, TV networks, and even the public broadcaster though none of them would speak to us.
An iron curtain is drawn when you mention the name Johnny Kitagawa.
Keep Studying
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