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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Justin McCurry in Osaka

Head of Johnny Kitagawa’s J-pop agency resigns over sexual abuse scandal

Julie Fujishima wipes tears away with a tissue.
Julie Fujishima said she was stepping down as president of Johnny & Associates ‘to take responsibility’. Photograph: Richard A Brooks/AFP/Getty Images

The president of Japan’s biggest boyband talent agency has resigned after acknowledging for the first time that its late founder sexually abused aspiring young stars.

The country’s most powerful pop mogul, Johnny Kitagawa, who died in 2019 aged 87, was accused of sexually assaulting multiple teenagers over decades, but evaded justice because his victims feared he would destroy their careers if they spoke out.

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