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The story
On September 30, SMILE-UP. updated its official site with the latest status on compensation for sexual abuse committed by the late Johnny Kitagawa. Since claims opened, the number of applicants has reached 1,048, with 581 having received compensation payments and 231 informed they would not be compensated. Reportedly, 226 applicants have not responded despite repeated attempts to contact them. On the thread, opinions clashed over the 231 deemed ineligible — some speculated it was a response to false claims, while others pointed out that some cases involved abuse that didn’t go through the agency, making it impossible to confirm affiliation and thus disqualifying them. Alongside this, many voices also questioned the stance of TV networks and the government, who failed to report on the issue while Kitagawa was alive.
【SMILE-UP.】 Compensation for Sexual Abuse by the Late Johnny Kitagawa: 1,048 Claimants, 581 Already Paid, 4 “Currently Being Processed”
SMILE-UP. Inc. reported the latest status on its official site on September 30 regarding compensation for sexual abuse committed by the late Johnny Kitagawa.
The official site posted: “As of today, since accepting compensation claims began, the Victims Relief Committee has received a total of 1,048 compensation claims. Of these, 226 people have not responded despite repeated attempts to contact them.”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Apparently some of them were claiming: scouted directly by Johnny → molested and fled before the agency even got involved → couldn't confirm affiliation, so they're ineligible.
They said they'd consider it if a third party could testify to having been in the "play room" (yariheya) at the time, so they were looking for witnesses.
Were they getting entertained/bribed too?
Way back, Shincho ran an article about Johnny's pedophilia toward boys, and it even came up in the Diet.
But for some reason, there was a guy close to Johnny nicknamed "Daikun'i" (the "Grand Cordon," a nickname for former PM Nakasone, Japan's highest honoree)…
Setting the whole predilection thing aside, rumor had it that Johnny and Daikun'i were connected through the GHQ (the postwar Allied occupation authority).
Is this Epstein or something?
Don't force that on the victims.
Though I do think the Johnny's talent side should be doing everything they can to stop fans' out-of-control harassment and slander.
You clean up after "Epstein Kitagawa" yourselves.
That's money you made by preying on kids for years.
Classic vested-interests Japan.
Even the ignorant masses pretended not to know.
Local Kansai TV has been trashing him for ages.
They used to call him "that homo old man."
Just from what I know, Hamamura Jun, Kamioka Ryutaro, Takajin, and Uenuma Emiko all criticized him by name way back when, and Yokoyama Knock even had a former member of Four Leaves (an old idol group) who'd written a tell-all book on his show for a special feature.
The TV networks knew too and just stayed silent.
Nothing was going to change unless it came from overseas.
Truly horrifying.
Come on, that can't be true.
Why would he need to specifically bring his own talent to the TV station to do that?
Overseas, Japan's entertainment industry is basically known for the horrifying Johnny's scandal (there's barely anything else it's known for).
We should be taking this a lot more seriously.
Even if it's fading, the perpetrator is already dead, so there's nothing more that can be done anyway.
It wasn't just signed talent — he went after trial-basis Juniors too.
In fact, even before he started the talent agency, he'd already formed a boys' baseball team and been preying on kids through that.
There's no way it stops at 1,000.
If the entertainment world and the agency had done their jobs properly, he could've faced justice while he was still alive.
It's not about the agency.
This could've been prevented if the police and TV networks had done their jobs.
Even NHK has executives who parachuted in from Johnny's connections.
They knew and just let it slide.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
This issue came to light in 2023, when overseas media reports triggered the public revelation of the late Johnny Kitagawa’s years of sexual abuse. The former Johnny’s agency subsequently changed its name to “SMILE-UP.” and shifted its focus entirely to supporting victims. Since compensation claims opened, the number of claimants and payment status have been announced periodically like this. On the thread, opinions were divided over why 231 people were deemed ineligible for compensation — some suspected “these must be false claims,” while others pointed out that cases where the agency can’t confirm affiliation are running into review difficulties. That said, the latter is just an unconfirmed explanation from within the thread, and it’s worth noting that this report alone doesn’t clarify how SMILE-UP. officially explains its criteria for denial.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou Sports Breaking News+) thread ‘[Entertainment] Compensation for Sexual Abuse by Johnny Kitagawa: 1,048 Claimants, 581 Already Paid Compensation… 231 Informed They Will Not Be Compensated.’
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