Recently, amid revelations that Johnny Kitagawa, the founder of J-pop's leading entertainment agency "Johnny's," sexually exploited male idol trainees in his lifetime, the current CEO of Johnny's has apologized.

On the 14th local time, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that after Kitagawa's death, his nephew, Juri Fujishima, who heads the Johnny's office, released an apology video.


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According to the released video, Juri said, "I sincerely apologize for causing controversy over the issue of sexual assault by our founder."

"First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest apologies to those who are complaining of harm," he continued, apologizing to fans who may have felt disappointed and anxious by the inappropriate controversy.

Kitagawa, who died of a stroke four years ago, has been a leading figure in the development of male idols since the establishment of "Johnny's Office" in 4, and has nurtured representative J-pop idols such as the groups "Smap" and "Arashi".


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Dubbed the godfather of Japanese idols, he became the subject of a sex scandal in March when the BBC released a documentary called "The Predator of J-Pop."

A man named "Hayashi" who appeared in the documentary revealed that he was sexually assaulted by Kitagawa when he was a teenager.

Hayashi first met Kitagawa at the age of 3 at an audition for Johnny's office, and a week later he entered a dormitory with many trainees.

Later, Hayashi, who was invited to Kitagawa's home, confided, "He came to me and said, 'Go take a bath,' and he washed my whole body as if I were a doll."


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Hayashi, who revealed that the sexual exploitation continued in other situations, recalled the horrific time, saying, "Everyone told me, 'You have to put up with it, otherwise you won't succeed.'"

On the other hand, Johnny's office, which made its first public statement about the matter, said in a written statement that it was not aware of the founder's sexual exploitation at the time and appeared to evade responsibility, but said that it "takes it very seriously and believes that it is not forgiven."

He said, "We will sincerely work on mental treatment and pain sharing for the victims," and said that he would strengthen the company's management system and compliance committee to prevent recurrence.

(Photo = YouTube 'TBS NEWS DIG Powered by JNN', 'BBC News')