Sho Sakurai was completely ignored and President Julie’s video was used only once
On May 15, “news zero” (Nippon Television Network Corporation), a news program in which Sho Sakurai appears, featured a special report on the “sexual assault” issue of Mr. Janney Kitagawa. However, Sakurai, who still belongs to Johnny’s, did not comment, and MC Yumiko Arido shared her thoughts on the issue.
How much of this issue will be dealt with?
And what comments will Sakurai make?
The public’s attention was focused on this issue, but Sakurai did not even appear on the screen during the broadcast, and was “completely left out.
At the end of the VTR, Arifumi spoke about the issue as follows.
I will discuss this matter on the program and talk about it. First of all, I would like you to give the highest priority to taking care of the victims of sexual assault. And because Johnny’s has shown us so many dreams through entertainment, I want them to make sure that fans and us can continue to dream without hesitation.
For this reason, I believe that we should fulfill our social responsibility to open up information, not only with this explanation, but also by protecting our privacy. Furthermore, we at ‘zero’ will also take the stance that we will never tolerate sexual abuse, and we will face it firmly.”
The allegations of sexual assault of minors by the office’s founder, Mr. Janney. Former Johnny’s Jr. and others who had belonged to the company in the past confessed to the allegations on a BBC program, and it became a major social issue.
In his YouTube channel, Cowan Okamoto, who held a press conference to make the accusation, also revealed that he met with President Keiko Fujishima Julie and received an apology from her in person. At that time, he said, Mr. Julie encouraged him to make a comment face to face.
Mr. Fujishima said, “Mr. Johnny’s, as well as his sister Mary, never allowed their backstage staff to be in the public eye, and even people in the industry would only see them by chance when they went for an interview. Mr. Janney only showed one photo of himself wearing a cap and sunglasses when he was in the Guinness Book of World Records.
It was highly unusual for President Julie to make a public apology, the first time since the company was founded. It was the first time since the company was founded that President Julie had made a public apology, and it was the first time since the company was founded that she had done so.
However, in his statement, Mr. Julie did not acknowledge the fact of sexual assault, saying that only Mr. Janney himself knew the truth. He explained that there was no way for him to know about it under Janie and Mary’s regime.
He also said that he would not even set up a third-party committee under the guise that some of the victims might not want to have hearings.
The fact that he apologized face-to-face is a big step forward, but many people must have had the impression that he was making a mess of the crucial part. In particular, NTV is very close to Johnny’s, to the extent that even “24 Hour TV” would not be possible without Johnny’s power.
It was decided early on in the planning of the program that Mr. Sakurai would not be allowed to comment on the program. However, since that would have led to accusations that Mr. Sakurai was “running away,” the TV station decided to protect him by refusing to allow him to comment, saying, “Let’s talk about it on the show.”
(A wide-show insider) Furthermore, the TV station may find it difficult to pursue the issue further.
The TV stations may not be able to pursue the issue further. “We were informed by Johnny’s that they do not want us to use the video of Mr. Julie’s apology in the future. In effect, they want to put out the fire on this issue as soon as possible.
Now that Mr. Janney has passed away, it is important to conduct thorough hearings with the victims in order to get to the bottom of the matter. However, Johnny’s is planning to provide counselors and other support only for those who wish to seek advice.
I wonder what the “boys” who were sexually victimized will think.
PHOTO: Yusuke Kondo