PRESS CONFERENCE
Kauan Okamoto, Former member of Johnny's Jr & Musician
12:00-13:00 Friday, September 8, 2023
*The date and time of the event has been changed.
Language: The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation.
What next for Johnny & Associates?
This Week, Julie Fujishima, president of Johnny & Associates, is widely expected to resign, after months of disturbing revelations about predatory sexual abuse by the talent agency's founder and her uncle, Johnny Kitagawa. A special investigative panel in August concluded that Kitagawa had started molesting boys at the agency as far back as the 1950s, and said the company's family management was a key reason why the abuse was allowed to continue for so long.
If any one person can take credit for pushing the agency to this point it is Kauan Okamoto. In April, he challenged the silence on claims of abuse when he told the FCCJ that had been the target of repeated and unwanted sexual attention by a then elderly Kitagawa from 2012 until he left Johnny & Associates four years later. Like so many others, Okamoto said, his initiation began in Kitagawa's penthouse apartment and was seen as the unspoken price boys at the agency paid for stardom.
After month of tumultuous developments, Okamoto has agreed to return to the FCCJ and give his assessment of the state of play. Has the investigation essentially put a lid on the Kitagawa scandal or are there more revelations to come? Can the company Kitagawa founded reclaim its former position at the top of Japan's entertainment tree? And does the man who helped break the code of omerta around Kitagawa believe that his many victims will receive compensation?
How to attend:
Please register at front@fccj.or.jp with your name, the name of your media outlet, and FCCJ membership number. Due to space restrictions attendance will be limited. Doors open 15 minutes before the event. Please sign in, giving your name and contact details at the reception, and have your temperature taken before proceeding.
How to watch online: https://www.youtube.com/c/FCCJchannel/live
Livestreaming of the press events will be available and video of this event will be uploaded to our FCCJ YouTube channel.
How to ask questions: https://forms.gle/hxDKHjzxN6Nj1TCY9
Members watching the event online can submit questions for the speakers in advance using this submission form.
TV crew: Please make a reservation at front@fccj.or.jp. Doors open for TV crews only at 30 minutes before the event.
Professional Activities Committee