The “wrong button” was found in the apology video… Julie’s “position lost forever in the entertainment industry” due to her backward response. | FRIDAY DIGITAL

The “wrong button” was found in the apology video… Julie’s “position lost forever in the entertainment industry” due to her backward response.

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What was announced at the second press conference was indeed the “dismantling of Johnny’s

Noriyuki Higashiyama, president of Johnny’s, and others held a second press conference to announce the renaming of the office and the future closure of the current office. Keiko Fujishima Julie, who owns 100% of the company’s stock, was absent from the press conference due to panic disorder, but she even expressed her desire to “rid the world” of any trace of Janie Kitagawa. Although the founder’s name will now be erased, one cannot help but feel that the company has been backed into a corner. The company has never held a public press conference, and its public relations approach has always been one of a wooden nose, so the two press conferences are unusual.

The reason for this impatience, to the extent of even talking about going out of business, lies in the “rebellion” of the companies that use the celebrities in their commercials. The companies have benefited from the talent’s promotion of their products and services, but when the firms are backed into a corner, they turn their backs on them. Although some said that the former president of the firm, who is now deceased, was the problem and that the talent was blameless, the company has said that it will review its business dealings with companies that have condoned sexual assault and child molestation. A reporter from the economics department explains.

Masakazu Tokura, chairman of Keidanren, said, “Talent is in a sense a victim, not a perpetrator. He pointed out that it is also a problem to deprive them of opportunities for a long time, but Takeshi Niinami, the representative secretary of the Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives), was harsh, saying that he doubted whether they were sincerely reflecting on the child abuse. It seems that the word “child abuse” was unacceptable to a large company with overseas operations. However, perhaps Mr. Niinami’s words were too harsh, and the weekly magazine even reported allegations of power harassment.

In the first place, this misunderstanding started from Mr. Julie’s mistake. Amid reports of Janney’s sexual misconduct, the company released a letter on its official website in May stating its views on the matter and its response. In a video, Mr. Julie expressed her apology. In the video, he said that he did not know about Mr. Janney’s sexual assaults, although he knew that it could never be dismissed as something he did not know. This “I didn’t know” would later come back to haunt him like a body blow. A reporter for a sports newspaper recalls.

Some of the office executives were opposed to the video apology, but it appears that Mr. Julie pushed through.” It seems that the recommendation came from the consulting consultants, and although the first face-to-face apology was a hot topic, the words “I didn’t know” were not good enough. Mr. Julie and the consultants decided the important issue of how to view sexual assault as an office. That was inevitable since he was the owner-president, but it resulted in criticism of the family control of the company.

At first, President Higashiyama even suggested in a program he anchors that it would be better to change the name of the office to his personal opinion. However, at the first press conference, he stated that he would maintain the name of the office. If he had held a press conference in May, apologized for the time being, and announced the content of the second press conference at the time of the first press conference, he would not have suffered so much damage. The lack of governance by the owner of the company has resulted in the company’s downfall.

Mr. Julie has made it clear that he will withdraw completely from Johnny’s. It was pointed out in some weekly magazines that the reason he has not resigned as representative director of the office is because he has applied for special measures for business succession taxation and is exempt from paying inheritance tax. However, the lawyer who was present at the press conference made it clear that he would not benefit from the new company after paying the inheritance tax, which is estimated to be more than 80 billion yen.

Nevertheless, the details of the business transfer from the old company to the new company are still unclear. In the case of Johnny’s, the amount of money generated by its so-called intellectual property, including past master recording rights and publishing rights, is enormous, and it is unlikely that these rights will be transferred to the new company without compensation. The old company will undertake to compensate and provide relief to the victims, but a considerable amount of money is expected to remain in Julie’s hands after the liquidation. Julie inherited the legacy of Janie and Mary. In exchange for this enormous inheritance, it is likely that he has lost his position in the entertainment industry.

  • Interview and text by Taro Aoyama

    As a reporter for a sports newspaper, Taro Aoyama covered a wide range of entertainment-related topics, including music, movies, and television. Currently he writes as a freelance writer.

  • PHOTO Kazuhiko Nakamura

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