Johnny’s’s Office, which “will not change its name or shareholders,” behind the scenes is former President Julie Fujishima’s “only daughter.
It seems they completely misjudged the situation. ……
On September 7, Johnny’s held a press conference in Tokyo in response to the sex-abuse issue of its founder, the late Johnny Kitagawa.
At the beginning of the press conference, it was announced that Keiko Fujishima Julie had resigned as representative director as of September 5, and that Noriyuki Higashiyama of “Shonen-tai” would take over as the new president.
The Johnny’s office was supposedly planning to take a step forward with this press conference.
Formally acknowledging Mr. Janney’s sexual assault, Higashiyama
“The deeds of a devil.”
and condemned it. He denounced Mr. Janney, a symbolic figure, and appealed for a break with him. He repeatedly stressed that he would “risk his life” to rebuild the office.
He also stressed repeatedly that he would work “with his life” to rebuild the office.
He stated, “We need to go beyond the law to provide relief and compensation.”
He also stated that “we need to go beyond the law and provide compensation. It may sound a bit condescending, but when a victim of sexual assault goes to court, the amount of damages is only a few million yen at most. The “remedy beyond the law” means, of course, that “no amount of money will be spared.
The total assets of Johnny’s is said to be 50 to 100 billion yen. Some reports have suggested a specific figure of “about 10 million yen per victim,” but even if there were 100 victims, the compensation would be 1 billion yen. Even if there were 100 victims, the amount of compensation would be 1 billion yen, which is nothing compared to the “strength” of the Johnny’s office.
The three points of the press conference were: breakup with Mr. Janney, preparedness to risk one’s life, and compensation beyond the law.
It seems as if they thought they could get through the press conference with this three-part set, but the reality was not as sweet as they thought.
From the beginning of the press conference, allegations of “harassment” by the new president, Higashiyama, erupted. In 2005, Shogo Kiyama, a former Johnny’s Jr. member, wrote a book titled “To SMAP – And All Johnny’s Talent” in which he described Higashiyama’s “sexual harassment”. On the morning of the 7th, the day of the press conference, Nikkan Gendai DIGITAL distributed the contents of the article online.
Higashiyama, who would have prepared for the press conference again and again, was only irregular about his own harassment allegations reported that day. Higashiyama said
I haven’t read the book, so I don’t know exactly what happened, but I don’t think it’s true.
Higashiyama once denied the allegation, but when pressed further, he said
I don’t really remember many things, and there is a possibility that I may have done it, and there is a possibility that I may not have done it. I may or may not have had youthful indiscretions, or I may have been childish at the time, or something like that.
He became very hesitant, and suddenly his qualifications were called into question.
What came as a surprise even to the international community was the fact that he would keep the name of Johnny’s office.
Julie still owns 100% of the shares of the office. Higashiyama said of the company name change.
“We discussed it.
“We have discussed it,” he said.
“But I think it is necessary now to do our best to dispel the image of the company.
He also stated, “We have had some discussions about changing the name.
However, after the press conference, it was reported that Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, a major non-life insurance company that uses Masaki Aiba of “Arashi” as its image character, was considering terminating the contract. Japan Airlines also announced that it would not use Japanese celebrities in its advertisements for the time being.
The Japanese brand is only for the domestic market. Internationally, Mr. Janney Kitagawa is considered a pedophile and a sexual predator who will go down in the history of mankind. Maintaining that Mr. Janney crown is unthinkable from a global perspective.
The client moved to terminate the contract because they thought it would damage their image. No matter how much they try to rebuild their business, as long as the stigma of Mr. Janney is not cleared, new commercials will be difficult.
Why are they so particular about the name of the company and why do they remain 100% shareholders? …… It is said that Mr. Julie’s strong intention was there.
The late Mary taught him how to be the next president of the company ever since he was born. The question of how family management should be is now being raised, but what Mr. Julie had been taught was that Johnny’s is a family business. It is impossible to change what has been imprinted for decades.
Mr. Julie has a daughter. She is now 19 years old, helping out at Johnny’s at a young age, and is in the process of being trained as a gifted young woman to be the “future president.
She advises the group on stage costumes and social networking strategies. Naturally, no one can complain because she is Julie’s daughter. The reason why Mr. Julie has not taken down the signboard or given up his shares is because he thinks that his daughter will eventually become his successor (……),” said a source in the entertainment industry.
(A source close to the entertainment industry said, “The Japanese entertainment industry is in the midst of a major shakeup.
Johnny’s’s office is in turmoil. The rocky road has only just begun.
PHOTO: Kazuhiko Nakamura