Men alleging abuse at Japanese talent agency are interviewed by company investigators

By YURI KAGEYAMA
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Two men who say they were sexually abused as teenagers by a Japanese entertainment mogul have been interviewed by a special team set up by the talent agency to look into the allegations. The two former members of a boys’ dance-and-song group called Johnny’s Junior say they still want an apology and compensation from Johnny & Associates. They are among about a dozen men who have alleged sexual abuse by the agency’s founder, Johnny Kitagawa. Kitagawa, who died in 2019, was never charged. The U.N. Working Group on Business and Human Rights has urged Japan’s government to act, noting that the victims likely numbered several hundred.