Veteran entertainment reporter speaks of “regret and responsibility” over Janney Kitagawa’s “sexual assault report
Entertainment reporter Toshio Ishikawa's "Behind the Scenes" of the entertainment industry: ......
Toshio Ishikawa, a veteran entertainment reporter, explains what happened behind the scenes in the entertainment industry: ……
The “sexual assault issue” by the former president of Johnny’s, Mr. Kitagawa, is only getting bigger.
The media should have known about it long before now, but you guys have been pretending not to know about it. You are responsible for this.
This is true,” said one long-time entertainment journalist.
Certainly, as a long-time entertainment journalist, I was aware of the sexual rumors about Mr. Janney, even if I did not know the specifics.
It is said that Janney was seen many times with young children at a 24-hour pharmacy on the outskirts of Azabu Juban, Tokyo. He was making the young children buy ultra-premium nutritional supplements.
The clerk there was also my source of information. He also told me what kind of use Janie and her friends would make of the products, but I never once wrote a story about it.
The problem surfaced in 1988.
It was in 1988 that this issue came to light, when former “Four Leaves” member Kouji Kita revealed in his own confessional book that he had been sexually victimized by Janney. However, the incident disappeared spectacularly.
Then, in ’99, in the beginning of the Heisei era, the magazine “Shukan Bunshun” came out with an accusation of sexual abuse by Mr. Janney, and the office filed a lawsuit for defamation of character.
Mr. Janney and the victim boy appeared in court to testify, and the Tokyo High Court decided to “recognize the fact” of sexual abuse. The trial proceeded to the Supreme Court, but the ruling remained the same and the decision was finalized in ’04. However, neither the media nor I reported the case.
I was a reporter at the time, and I had a “roll with the long game” attitude. However, I was not the only one, and no one involved in the program ever asked me, “Shouldn’t we report it?
“We should report it!
I was not the only one who said, “We should report it!
This was because they knew they would get a negative response from the top management. Therefore, this issue did not even come up in the discussions on whether or not to report it. It is a shameful story, even after all this time.
Mr. Janney passed away in May 2007. This year, the sexual assault by Mr. Johnny’s came to light again through a live broadcast between Mr. Gershey, an exposé-style YouTube star who was disqualified from the House of Councilors after not attending a single session of Congress, and Cowan Okamoto, a former Johnny’s Jr.
The BBC in the U.K. then aired a documentary program on the sexual victimization, and Mr. Okamoto decided to hold a press conference. In response, the current president, Julie Fujishima, will release an apology video and comments.
The Johnny’s s office has long reigned in the entertainment industry. The “in-your-face” apology was a moment that changed the history of the entertainment industry.
The “in-your-face” apology was a moment that changed the history of the entertainment industry. Naturally, I do not believe that there were no problems at all. (omitted) We take it very seriously and seriously that there are people who have been victimized right in front of us.”
He apologized. We do not know how much the current president knew, but we are sure he was aware of the situation.
It is true that there was an environment in which the victims could not speak out, but we, the cowards, are also responsible for creating the victims.
Text: Toshio Ishikawa, entertainment reporter
Born in Tokyo in 1946. He has a unique career path from Shochiku's Advertising Department to a reporter for a women's magazine to an entertainment reporter. He has appeared on "The Wide" and "Information Live Miyaneya" (both on Nippon Television Network Corporation), and currently appears regularly on "Mentai Wide" (Fukuoka Broadcasting System), "Su Matan" (Yomiuri TV), and Rainbow Town FM.