"Johnny Kitagawa: Calls for probe after J-pop agency abuse apology" 15 May 2023

The CEO of Japan's most powerful pop talent agency, Johnny and Associates, has apologised to alleged victims of sexual abuse committed by its late founder, Johnny Kitagawa.

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On Sunday Julie Keiko Fujishima, the CEO of the powerful entertainment agency and a niece of Kitagawa, apologised to the victims.

"I offer my deepest apologies to those who have come forward with the experiences they suffered," she said in a rare statement posted on the company's website.

Fujishima said the agency took the allegations very seriously and believed such conduct was "never acceptable".

However, she stopped short of saying individual allegations were true, and claimed not to have known about her uncle's actions at the time. Fujishima also said there would not be an independent investigation.

Fans have responded saying the apology does not go far enough. On Friday a petition signed by a group called Penlight and signed by 16,000 fans demanded a full investigation.

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