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00:00 Stepping down as president of the powerful J-pop talent agency, Jony's,
00:05 Julie Fujishima acknowledged for the first time the abuse committed by the founder,
00:10 her uncle, Johnny Kitagawa.
00:13 Both the agency and myself personally recognise that sex abuse by Johnny Kitagawa took place.
00:22 I apologise to his victims from the bottom of my heart.
00:29 It comes a week after third-party investigators found Kitagawa abused hundreds of boys and
00:36 young men over several decades.
00:38 The investigation was commissioned by the company after a BBC documentary earlier this
00:42 year sparked national outrage.
00:45 Johnny Kitagawa always denied wrongdoing.
00:48 He died in 2019, having never faced criminal charges.
00:52 This despite victims speaking out over the years.
00:55 The latest allegations came in April when singer Kwan Okamoto claimed to have been assaulted
01:00 15 to 20 times, starting in 2012 when he was 15 years old.
01:06 Johnny started to massage my feet.
01:08 He took off my underwear and touched my genitals.
01:13 He then performed oral sex on me.
01:17 Kitagawa's power within the industry protected him.
01:20 For a long time TV networks that relied on his talent agency didn't cover the allegations.
01:25 But Thursday's press conference was carried live by most broadcasters as the wall of silence
01:30 around Johnny Kitagawa was finally broken.
01:34 The agency's new president, a J-pop star himself, said he will soon retire from performing and
01:39 dedicate the rest of his life to dealing with the fallout.
01:42 (audience laughing)