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The original was posted on /r/hobbydrama by /u/Aimee_Challenor_VEVO on 2024-01-30 23:48:13.
Johnny's & Associates
Johnny's & Associates is a Japanese talent management agency established in 1962 by Japanese-American Johnny Kitagawa. What started as organizing people he met dancing at parks turned into a media juggernaut managing male idol groups in high demand during Japan's economic peak. The now-popular dancing+singing+acting formula originated here, starting with boybands. Groups include SMAP, TOKIO, Arashi, Snow Man, Kis-my-ft2, KAT-TUN, King & Prince, SixTones, really the whole gamut of male faces on TV. Back then popular idols had incomes in the hundreds and thousands of dollars per month, working so rigorously that many former Onyanko Club members have said they have no recollection of that time due to the sleep deprivation. After the success of the show Kinpachi-sensei Johnny's ballooned in influence within broadcasting, an unusual position for a talent management company. Former TV producers commented that the selection of certain idols and actors was a make-or-break factor in viewership, and that staying on Johnny's "good side" was a constant industry preoccupation.
Unfortunately Kitagawa was more of a Jimmy Savile figure with long-standing allegations of sexual abuse and harrassment bubbling beneath the mainstream media. In many entertainment circles it was an open secret, dirty laundry successfully hidden for decades due to the position Johnny's occupied. Allegations in memoirs by former idols sprung up as early as 1988, largely ignored by the mainstream press. In 2001 weekly newspaper/tabloid Shūkan Bunshun published allegations after which they were immediately hit with a libel suit by Johnny & Associates. While some claims the paper made were found to be libelous the sexual assault claims were found to be true and further appeals by the company were rejected in 2004. After the suit Shūkan Bunshun's parent media company was blacklisted access to any idols Johnny's managed.
It all came crashing down in 2023 well after Kitagawa's death in 2019 and an English BBC report on the allegations. A third-party investigation concluding in August determined that his sexual misconduct stretched across 40 years from the early 1970's to 2010. Nearly 500 victims were identified, many as part of Johnny's Jr. underaged at the time. Victims testified about how Kitagawa would climb into bed with them or walk into the dorm showers. The implicit message they were told at Johnny's being "bear through this and you'll be on TV." Others would be told "Your turn" and "He used to do a lot more back then," by older members, a sort of kids have it easy these days mentality. Many recalled how god-like Kitagawa would personally receive hundred of new years letters from all kinds of media, advertising, and food executives. With the bastard dead and the allegations firmly in the news advertisers started to pull out, cutting off valuable revenue streams from ad appearances. Kitagawa's niece and CEO Keiko Fujishima stepped down, the company was restructured, lots of public changes were advertised.
The press conference
On October 2th 2023 Johnny's staff including idol-turned CEO Noriyuki Higashiyama (who previously put his penis on a plate and told a junior member to "eat my sausage") and squeaky-clean Yoshihiko Inohara opened a press conference on the allegations and a renaming of the company to SMILE-UP. As this was following the outcry, mainstream coverage, and independent inquiry the expectation was that Johnny's would accept responsibility, pay for damages, and restructure to shed the old baggage that Kitagawa's legacy brought. 200 reporters attended including international correspondents from the New York Times to Reuters. A portion were also independent journalists including Masaki Kito, a reporter famous for his coverage of the Unification Church. Each media outlet was allocated only 1 question, with a former NHK news anchor turned moderator picking reporters by raised hands. An adversarial atmosphere fell over the 2-hour event with a portion of reporters complaining that they were being ignored. The moderator nervously responded "No, I am being fair. I am looking at everyone," and "it's not a farce" to angry reporters.
Former idol Yoshihiko Inohara argued with reporters who felt passed over saying "Let's show the children watching a conference of adults following rules," bizarrely eliciting both groans and applause within the reporters. Inohara was the public's darling, a figure more human-like than the other walking scandal machines in Johnny's. An embarrassing news article later praised him for his verbal spanking of reporters. Otherwise the conference ended with little media fanfare.
The blacklist
Then October 4th the public broadcaster NHK published footage showing Johnny's staff holding documents labelled "NG (No Good) reporters" during the conference. Accompanying the list was at least 6 portrait photos and their accompanying seat numbers. It suggested that Johnny's had created a media blacklist. Later reporting also suggested that ousted CEO Keiko Fujishima also attended, a firm contradiction with the company's efforts to sincerely make institutional changed they repeatedly promised.
When initially reported on the 4th Johnny's gave a simple response to the media: "We don't know." (sounding a bit more adversarial in Japanese more akin to "Not our business") The next day Johnny's issued a press release essentially offloading blame to its consulting partner responsible for managing the conference, American firm FTI partners. They stated a list was never produced nor requested by their staff, seemingly confirming the existence of the blacklist. Johnny's quoted Inohara, the same man who reprimanded unruly reporters as saying "What does this mean? It's no good if we don't call on everyone" after seeing the blacklist in a preliminary meeting. On October 5, 2023 FTI Consulting admitted the existence of the blacklist and staggeringly, a candidate list of "preferable" reporters. Their given reasons for such a list was to avoid retraumatizing former victims and filtering out reporters who "may spend too much time talking about themselves." Contradicting Johnny & Associates' claims FTI stated both parties confirmed the policy on how to proceed with the press conference.
This of course attracted further condemnation. Former Shūkan Bunshun journalist Ryūtarō Nakamura said "This is a total strike-out. With this it's obvious that their unscrupulous ways haven't changed. 'We didn't know' or 'a third-party was responsible' is not valid. "Preferable" journalist Chikako Komai and "NG" journalist Eito Suzuki appeared together on the news, Komai stating that the "preferable" label was much more problematic for her as a journalist.
Fan reactions
Before these admissions detractors and fundamentalist Johnny's fans clutched onto the first word of the NG list - "Name NG list," suggesting that it was merely reporters who opted not to disclose their names during the questions segment. Their argument that it was a misunderstanding, a malicious hitpiece on Johnny's, hitting someone when they're already down. The broadcaster that broke the story, the NHK, has long since been in the crosshairs of right-wingers much like the opposition to the BBC and now Jonny's fans were starting to join their ranks. A news article titled "Are young audiences getting estranged from Johnny's?" attracted angry comments responding that they were getting estranged with TV instead.
with some amusing responses
Of course criticism of In...
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