President Noriyuki Higashiyama’s dedication to “SMILE” company may speed up compensation…Non-Johnny’s victims have high expectations.

On October 30, it was reported that President Noriyuki Higashiyama may have declined to become president of the new agent company and may concentrate on “SMILE-UP.

If this is true, we can hope that hearings with the victims and compensation will be speeded up even a little.

So said Mr. A, a victim (non-Johnny’s group) whose enrollment has not been confirmed at present.

At a press conference held on October 2, the former Johnny’s’s reported that 325 people had submitted requests for compensation to the Victims’ Relief Committee, of which approximately 150 had been confirmed as enrolled. The number of victims is believed to have increased further since then.

As has been reported, the sexual assaults by Mr. Janie Kitagawa have been carried out at any time and place, including in NHK’s restrooms.

There was a case in which a student was victimized in the restroom on the first day of a lesson and then stopped going, so there was no way to prove that the student was enrolled. It is said that the damage has also been inflicted on actors from other agencies, and the focus will be on how SMILE will recognize the damage in the future.

After the press conference, Mr. A made inquiries to SMILE,

After the press conference, Mr. A contacted SMILE, but was told, “We have not heard from them for almost three weeks after they told us that they would contact us back after confirming our enrollment. With this, I don’t know when it will be. I am also concerned about the compensation for other victims. I am not a member of the Johnny’s Sexual Assault Association, but I have acquaintances who are, so we exchange information.

SMILE has begun hearings by the Victims’ Relief Committee, but as expected, the victims are voicing their dissatisfaction and anxiety.

Kyohei Iida, former member of the Japanese group Kis-My-Ft2, updated his X (formerly Twitter),

《It seems like this one is functioning properly, as it is independent. I guess we’ll have to go there first to see how the hearing will go.

he posted. He continued by attaching an image of an itinerary form marked “Appointment for 45 minutes of hearing,

≪45 minutes per person to assess compensation amount→assessment results→sign settlement agreement→payment→end? Victims’ Relief Committee? A compensation assessment committee?

he said sarcastically. Mr. Iida, however, is still lucky to be able to attend the hearing, while victims of the non-Johnny’s group, such as Mr. A, whose enrollment cannot be confirmed, are still unable to attend even a hearing, no matter how long they wait.

The Association of the Parties has been receiving many inquiries from such non-Johnny’s victims.

The association is currently in a split state, with a number of members, including the aforementioned Mr. Iida, leaving the association due to “differences in direction. However, the group has called for relief measures to be implemented for “all victims who have been harmed by Mr. Johnny’s,” and the non-Johnny’s group has no choice but to rely on the association.

We can only hope that the situation will improve for all the victims.

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