The press conference held on September 7 at Johnny & Associates, a Japanese entertainment company, shocked the industry and the public. In this interview JOHNNY & ASSOCIATES PRESIDENT JULIE K. For the first time, FUJISHIMA has admitted to sexual harassment charges, acknowledging its responsibility and announcing that it will step down from all positions. This was a formal acknowledgment of the sexual harassment issue by the former president in the history of Johnny & Associates.Previously, he was not aware of Johnny H. Kitagawa’s alleged annoyance and was not aware of it at all, but admitted at the press conference that he was aware of it for the first time, saying, “I want to take responsibility as a nephew because it’s a problem caused by my uncle.”Noriyuki Higashiyama, who was newly appointed as the new president of Johnny & Associates at the press conference, was also an entertainer of a group that gained popularity not only in Japan but also in Asia in the past as a group called Shonen-tai, whose founder Johnny H. Kitagawa debuted as an entertainer. As such a celebrity entertainment company, the former president’s recognition shocked not only Japan but also the people and media who liked and were interested in J-Pop.
In addition, the founder of JOHNNY & ASSOCIATES held two Guinness world records, but this incident deleted all records other than the person who produced the most concerts.According to Reuters, JOHNNY & ASOCIATES has been introduced as an entertainment company with a significant presence in Japanese culture, producing popular J-POP artists from all over East Asia, such as SMAP and arasi. However, former President Johnny H. Kitagawa’s report of sexual harassment shocked Japan.Higashiyama, the new president, commented on the issue of changing the company’s name. “The name Johnny’s is of course the name of the founder, but I think the most important thing is the energy and pride that the actors have built up. “From now on, everyone should work hard as one to the extent that they can dispel such an image,” he said. However, the issue of changing the company’s name is still controversial among victims and talent, for example, Yuichi Nakamaru of KAT-TUN said on a television program on the 10th. “Objectively, I think changing the company name is definitely a valid decision. It was Johnny’s WEST’s Junta Nakama who made this comment. In the meantime, I’ve said that the name Johnny’s will bring back bad memories quickly, and the general public knows it’s strange to keep using the name Johnny’s name. So I also think we should change the name of the company, and I’m also determined to lose the name of Johnny’s WEST.” Large companies’ responses to JOHNNY & ASSOCIATES, the entertainment giant that has had a huge impact in the advertising industry over the past half century, are divided. Currently, NISSAN Motor Corporation has officially announced that it will not enter into a new advertising contract with JOHNNY & ASSOCIATES’ talent. In addition, it was announced that Takuya Kimura’s advertising contract will be judged again when the contract period expires. Suntory Holdings Limited has announced that it will expire its existing contract and not enter into a new contract if the victims’ explanations of remedies and preventive measures are not sufficient from JOHNNY & ASSOCIATES.
These measures can be seen as taking into account the current situation of JOHNNY & ASSOCIATES. McDonald’s Japan has announced that it will not renew its advertising contract using JOHNNY & ASSOCIATES’ talent after the contract expires. In this regard, Kao decided to quickly stop advertising using Johnny’s talent because the sexual harassment issue was judged to be contrary to Kao’s human rights policy, and announced that JOHNNY & ASSOCIATES would decide on additional measures after checking how to reform and prevent recurrence. However, we will not consider lifting the talent contract with JOHNNY & ASSOCIATES at the moment, and we will make further judgments after confirming how JOHNNY & ASSOCIATES progresses in its reform and recurrence prevention efforts in the future. In addition, the decision is drawing keen attention in Japan as kao currently maintains contracts with four teams, including Kento Nakajima of the “Sexy Zone.” If there are various opinions in Japan, fans who are currently responding positively to the press conference said that this recognition could change the dark side of the entertainment industry in the future, but on the negative side, JOHNNY & ASSOCIATES should be eliminated. The reason is that the image named Johnny’s has already been negatively recognized worldwide, so no change can occur. There are many positive aspects of the press conference in Japan, but a big part of the negative thoughts is that the name is not changed. On the victim’s side, it is unpleasant that the perpetrator’s name continues to be used, and the victim does not accept it and says he will continue to use it with other reasons, and secondly, critics are concerned about changing the label used by Johnny’s talents. Many fans and officials pointed out that there could be no damage, but they would have to make a big decision to reduce it.
SOPHIA KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
