Okamoto's Adjutant Accuses Maestro Johnny Kitagawa Of Sexual Harassment When He Is 15 Years Old

Illustration (Photo: freepic)

JAKARTA - A former teenage idol gave a surprising statement about the sexual harassment he received from Johnny Kitagawa, the founder of Japan's largest boyband empire. This is a rare accusation against the late maestro. The talent agent Johnny and Associates founded by Kitagawa and has dominated the country's showbiz industry for decades, not responding to various requests for comment from AFP. Japan's Foreign Correspondent club, which hosted a press conference by Accusers, Kauan Okamoto, said the company also failed to respond to his invitation to comment. Kitagawa died of a stroke at the age of 87 in 2019, after engineering the birth of J-pop mega-groups including SMAP, TOKIO, and Arashi. The Japanese-Brazil singer said she was abused by Kitagawa '15 to 20 times' during four years on duty at the agency until 2016. It started when the victim was only 15 years old. Okamoto was one of the first to publicly discuss the alleged history of Kitagawa's sexual abuse of boys. "I hope all other victims will move forward," Okamoto said as quoted from thenewsasia channel, Wednesday, April 12. Okamoto believes most of the 100 to 200 young recruits he works with at the agency were also attacked by Kitagawa. "I also want the agency's top management, and Johnny himself if he is here today, admits what happened and ensures things like that won't happen again," he said. The musician said it was a common thing for young talent Kitagawa who was waiting for his mainstream debut to spend the night in airi apartment equipped with a jacuzzi, bar, and karaoke machine. Okamoto is now 26 years old. The first time he was attacked when maestro Kitagawa came to his bed and started touching his genitals and oral sex on him. Kitagawa gave him 10,000 yen the following day, without mentioning what the money was for. Allegations of child abuse and sexual exploitation have surrounded Kitagawa for years, but most whistleblowers remain anonymous. Shukan Bunshun weekly magazine in 1999 published a series based on allegations made by several boys managed by the entrepreneur. Kitagawa was compensated for defamation after the report but the ruling was partially overturned on appeal, with the court ruling that the magazine had sufficient reasons to publish the allegations, according to Kyodo News. Kitagawa, however, has never been prosecuted criminally. And Okamoto said he had no plans to ask the police for an investigation. "Thanks Johnny, my life has changed," he said. "But I also believe what Johnny did to me when I was 15 years old and to other juniors was a bad thing."

The singer said there was an awareness among the boys under Kitagawa's management that refusing his will would undermine their chances of success. Although the maestro never explicitly said so.