Johnny Kitagawa

Johnny Kitagawa
ジャニー喜多川
Born
John Hiromu Kitagawa

(1931-10-23)October 23, 1931
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedJuly 9, 2019(2019-07-09) (aged 87)
Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Occupations
  • Business magnate
  • promoter
  • record producer
Known forFounder of Johnny & Associates
Relatives
Musical career
Genres
Years active1968–2019

John Hiromu Kitagawa (Japanese name Hiromu Kitagawa (喜多川 擴, Kitagawa Hiromu); October 23, 1931 – July 9, 2019), known professionally as Johnny Kitagawa (ジャニー喜多川, Janī Kitagawa), was a Japanese business magnate, promoter and record producer. He was best known as the founder of Johnny & Associates, a talent agency for numerous popular boy bands in Japan. He held the Guinness World Records for the most No. 1 artists, the most No. 1 singles, and the most concerts produced by an individual.[1]

Kitagawa assembled, produced and managed more than a dozen popular bands, including Tanokin Trio, Hey! Say! JUMP, SMAP, Arashi, Kanjani8, V6, NEWS and KAT-TUN. Kitagawa's influence spread beyond music to the realms of theatre and television. Regarded as one of the most powerful figures in the Japanese entertainment industry, he held a virtual monopoly on the creation of boy bands in Japan for more than 40 years.[2] Kitagawa also founded the idol trainee system, where talents are signed on to the agency and trained until they are ready to debut professionally, which has been adopted by other idol industries. Kitagawa himself avoided the public spotlight. He rarely permitted his photograph to be taken, and did not make public appearances with his groups. A memorial concert was held after his death in 2019, with 154 of Kitagawa's artists and other celebrities in attendance.

From 1988 to 2000, Kitagawa was the subject of a number of claims that he had taken advantage of his position to engage in improper sexual relationships with boys under contract to his talent agency, though no criminal charges were ever filed against him. In 2023, four years after his death, his sexual abuse was publicised more widely after a report concluded that he committed sexual abuse from the early 1970s until the mid-2010s, including the rape of hundreds of boys who were members of Johnny & Associates before their debut.[3][4] As of 2023, a reported number of 478 persons have claimed to have been victimized by Kitagawa, of those, 325 sought compensation, and only 150 have been confirmed to have belonged in the company.[5] Later in the year, Johnny & Associates announced its name would change to Smile Up, and that anything bearing the name "Johnny", such as related companies and performing groups, would be changed to remove Kitagawa's name.

  1. ^ Zhan, Jennifer (October 7, 2023). "The Most Powerful Man in J-Pop's Sex-Abuse Scandal, Explained". Vulture. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Jpop was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Daly, Rhian (March 7, 2023). "Johnny Kitagawa: J-pop founder who faced decades of sexual abuse allegations". Rolling Stone UK. Archived from the original on March 12, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  4. ^ "Johnny Kitagawa's sexual abuse: Japan's worst kept secret". BBC News. September 8, 2023. Archived from the original on September 9, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  5. ^ "補償請求者325人中、在籍確認は約150人 ジャニーズ性加害". Mainichi (in Japanese). October 2, 2023. Archived from the original on October 2, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2023.