Johnny Kitagawa

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Johnny Kitagawa (ジャニー喜多川 Janī Kitagawa?), born October 23, 1931, in Los Angeles, California, is the producer of Johnny & Associates, the largest and arguably most powerful young male talent recruitment organization in Japan.

There are very few photographs of Kitagawa in the public domain. Interviews are almost never granted and official management of the talent agency is in the hands of Kitagawa's sister.

In the 1980s and 1990s, there were many claims from former Johnny's that he sexually harassed many of the young male hopefuls that were recruited by his company. These claims were never substantiated, although there were rumours of an out-of-court settlement.

[edit] Sexual harassment claims

It has frequently been rumoured from the 1970s that Johnny Kitagawa has sexually harassed members of his boy bands. For example, from 1988 to 1989, the Japanese magazine Uwasa no Shinsō (噂の真相?), literally "The truth of the rumour", published a series of articles on this topic. Also in 1988, Koji Kita (北公次 Kita Kōji?), a former member of one of Johnny's boy bands, Four Leaves (フォーリーブス Fō Rībusu?), published a series of diaries called Hikaru Genji e (光Genjiへ?), literally "Dear Hikaru Genji", containing similar claims.

More recently, in 1999, the magazine Shūkan Bunshun (週刊文春?) printed similar articles accusing Johnny Kitagawa of various forms of sexual harassment, child abuse, rape, and irresponsible behaviour such as allowing underage smoking. In 2000, the New York Times reported on the battle between Kitagawa and Shūkan Bunshun, interviewing a former star who claimed he had been raped by Kitagawa at the age of 12. In 2002 Johnny Kitagawa sued for defamation of character, which resulted in a lengthy court case. After a series of trials, the court admitted the claim of sexual harassment but ordered the magazine to pay 1,200,000 yen compensation for other unproved claims.

[edit] References

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