Another ex-member of Johnny's talent agency says he was sexually abused

TOKYO, May 17 (Japan Today) - Another former member of Japan's top male talent agency Johnny & Associates Inc said Tuesday he was sexually abused as a teenager by the firm's late founder Johnny Kitagawa, with the scandal leading to an apology by the current president.

"When I was about 13, I was sexually abused around two times," Yasushi Hashida, now a dancer and actor, told a Diet hearing he was invited to attend by the main opposition, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.

Hashida, 37, came forward with the allegations of abuse after Kauan Okamoto, a 26-year-old former member of Johnny & Associates, did so at a press conference in April. Okamoto, a Japanese-Brazilian singer and songwriter, was also at the hearing.

The allegations surrounding Kitagawa have garnered international attention after the BBC aired a documentary in March that included interviews with people besides Okamoto, who said they had been sexually abused by the late music mogul.

The revelation eventually led Julie Keiko Fujishima, the current president of the company and a niece of Kitagawa, to release a video and a written apology on Sunday in a rare public appearance. ...continue reading

Source: ANNnewsCH

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