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BBC Plans Documentary Episode About Idol Industry Mogul Johnny Kitagawa's Alleged Abuse

The BBC is listing the summary and air date of a documentary about Talent Agency Johnny & Associates founder Johnny Kitagawa on its BBC Two channel. The program will debut on March 7 at 9:00 p.m. GMT (4:00 p.m. EST).

The broadcaster describes the program as follows:

Johnny Kitagawa's legendary male-only talent agency trained young boys to become superstars. But for over 50 years, Japan has kept Kitagawa's dark secret – a long history of allegations of sexual abuse, made by boys in his agency. Even after the music mogul's death in 2019 the Japanese media remained largely silent. Why? Journalist Mobeen Azhar explores the suffocating reality of being a J-pop idol, the influence that Kitagawa had on the media and exposes the brutal consequences of turning a blind eye.

Kitagawa passed away in July 2019 due to a subarachnoid hemorrhage (form of stroke). He was 87.

Kitagawa was born in Los Angeles, and his family returned to Japan when he was very young. He later returned to America and spent some of his youth there. He taught English to orphans in the Korean War for the United States Army. Kitagawa returned to Japan again and founded Johnny & Associates in 1962 after establishing the male idol group Johnnys.

Johnny & Associates went on to establish and manage many male idol groups such as SMAP, Arashi, Tokio, KinKi Kids, V6, KAT-TUN, and Hey! Say! JUMP. The members of idol groups under the management of Johnny & Associates are collectively known as "Johnny's."

In addition, Kitagawa was a music producer and stage production director. He continued to produce musicals into his 80s. He held Guinness World Records for having the most No. 1 artists, the most No. 1 singles, and the most concerts produced by an individual.

Kitagawa faced allegations of sexual misconduct during his career. However, the accusations never resulted in formal criminal charges.

Source: BBC