Is Johnny’s the only one?” – What was the substance of the “important statement from a major business figure” that put the entertainment world in a tense mood?

While the issue of sexual assault by former Johnny’s CEO, Mr. Kitagawa, shows no sign of abating, Ken Kobayashi, an advisor to the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) and Mitsubishi Corporation, is causing a stir by raising a certain issue.

At a regular press conference on September 20, Kobayashi referred to the issue of sexual assault and wondered if the problem was limited to Johnny’s. He then questioned whether similar problems were occurring at other entertainment companies. He questioned whether similar incidents were occurring at other entertainment companies.

At the regular press conference, Mr. Kobayashi was asked about Johnny’s. “It is a company that was headed by a criminal. He and his successors were aware of that as a company. This is very problematic from a compliance standpoint. He also asked about the issue of sexual assault, “Is Johnny’s the only one (in the entertainment industry) that has done this to underage women? For example, have there been cases of sexual assault against underage girls? As a media outlet, we need to investigate.

Kobayashi’s comments are significant because he is the head of the Nissho Corporation, a huge economic organization with approximately 1.25 million members. This has led some in the entertainment industry to express concern about the possibility of the sexual assault issue spreading to other firms. This is because, as the issue spreads, many entertainment agencies other than Johnny’s have remained silent without publicly expressing their views on the matter or mentioning it.

Of course, many of them are clean, but there are also many entertainment agencies that have a “past” that should not be dredged up. As reports of sexual assault continue to circulate, many people in the entertainment industry are sweating cold sweat, thinking, “What about the other firms?

If you go back to the past, there are a number of offices that have had problems with sexual assault and sexual harassment by their executives. If they criticize Johnny’s, it may “boomerang” on them, so it is difficult for them to mention it openly. Therefore, it can be said that Mr. Kobayashi’s comments, in a sense, gouged out the core of what they did not want to be touched.

For example, in 2008, it was reported in “Shukan Bunshun” that an executive at a major entertainment agency, who held tremendous power at the time, had repeatedly sexually assaulted and harassed an idol he was pushing. The accusation by the victim, who had reached her limits, brought the matter to the surface, and the executive was dismissed from his post.

There are various other rumors circulating in the industry about this executive, and some say that the management team, which must have heard these stories, may have caused this situation by heavily employing this person for many years. In the entertainment industry, there have been other cases of girl idols being sold in exchange for physical relations with powerful people, being urged to “pillow talk” to influential people who would give them work, and leaving the company after a sexual dispute with an office director. I have heard of many examples.

We have heard of many examples. If some entertainment agencies with such pasts were to be held liable for sexual assaults in the same manner as Johnny’s, they could be forced into a severe situation where they would be “out” as a company.

The Japanese entertainment industry has always had a “tradition” of being run to some extent by autocratic and powerful individuals with political power and prowess, regardless of whether it is a good thing or not.

In order to survive in the competition to be the best in the entertainment business, “prowess” was a necessary aspect of the business. In this environment, it is believed that there have been many acts of harassment by some influential people.

For example, it was rumored that the top executive of one of the offices had relationships with several female talents in his company at the same time and gave them preferential treatment by forcing them into TV programs. If these talents start rehashing their past “damages” with a “Me Too” campaign in the wake of the Johnny’s issue, the entertainment industry will be in turmoil.

The entertainment companies that are taking a blind eye to Johnny’s’ collapse may find themselves in a situation where “tomorrow is their own day”.

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