Noriyuki Higashiyama, New President: “Special Circumstances in the Industry” in which Allegations of Sexual Harassment and Power Harassment in the Past Can Be Dismissed as “youthful indiscretion”.

Although an apology and explanatory press conference was held, the “Janney Kitagawa Sexual Harassment Problem” is far from being completely resolved.

What is clear now is that Keiko Julie Fujishima, who was president, has stepped down, and Noriyuki Higashiyama (56), an affiliated celebrity, has been appointed as the new president, while Fujishima remains as a director even after stepping down as president and still owns 100% of the shares.

Now, Higashiyama, the new president, has announced that he will cease his talent activities and retire at the end of this year in order to devote himself to helping the victims, compensating them, and rebuilding the office.

However, the “Special Team for the Prevention of Recurrence by Outside Experts” pointed out the negative effects of the family management, and it was necessary to appoint someone other than the “Janney family” as the new president….

At first, it was said that the new president would be an outsider, but I heard that the party that was approached refused, saying that they did not want to get on a “sinking ship” (an executive of a well-established entertainment company).

As a result, there was no choice but to appoint an insider as president, and now that “Johnny’s’s eldest son” Masahiko Kondo, who was said to be the next president, was gone, Higashiyama, the oldest president, was the only choice. Higashiyama, however, is someone close to the office, even though he is a member of the company’s talent roster. In fact, some have pointed out that it would be no different from a “family-run business.

In addition, some people asked, “Are you sure that Higashiyama-san is going to be okay? I’m worried.

At the press conference, Shogo Kiyama, a former Johnny’s celebrity who used the stage name Masato Yamazaki in the mid-1980s, pointed out Higashiyama’s sexual harassment in his book “To SMAP and All Johnny’s Talent” (published by Kanjosha), which was published in 2005. It was pointed out, but he himself said, “I don’t remember it well,

He denied it softly, saying, “I don’t remember much” and “It might have been a youthful indiscretion.”

He denied it softly. While it is likely that Higashiyama will be pursued further in the future, there are also voices defending him against the power harassment and sexual harassment that have been pointed out.

Higashiyama-san is known for his extremely stoic nature. It is well known that he does 1,000 sit-ups a day to keep his body in shape. I think that is why he was sometimes very strict with his younger colleagues. Also, when he was young, power harassment and sexual harassment were not as common at TV stations, advertising agencies, and general companies as they are today.

It is not something that can be forgiven, but what he was doing was not seen as a problem at the time, so it is understandable that it was a youthful indiscretion,” said an employee of a TV station.

Higashiyama is now over 50 years old, married with a child. It is indeed hard to believe that things will remain as they were in the past. There are certainly many causes for concern, but Johnny’s has no choice but to entrust the job to Higashiyama, and we look forward to seeing what he can do when the new organization is announced in October.