TOKYO (AP) 鈥 When Johnny Kitagawa told one of the boys staying at his luxury house to go to bed early, everyone knew 鈥渋t was your turn.鈥
That was among the recollections shared Wednesday by musician Kauan Okamoto, then 15, about allegedly being sexually assaulted by Kitagawa, a powerful figure in the Japanese entertainment world. The Associated Press does not usually identify victims of alleged sexual assault, but Okamoto has chosen to identify himself in the media.
Okamoto was part of the backup boys鈥 group Johnny鈥檚 Jr., which also worked as a talent pool for Johnny & Associates, a talent agency managing male idol actors and singers.
He remembered the sound of Kitagawa鈥檚 slippers pitter-pattering down the hallway. He turned over in bed, feigning sleep. Sometimes Kitagawa handed him a 10,000-yen ($100) bill the morning after when no one was looking, like in the elevator, according to Okamoto.
That continued for four years, starting in 2012 and lasting until Okamoto left Johnny & Associates.
Okamoto's encounters with Kitagawa started when he had a modeling agency send a video of him singing Justin Bieber鈥檚 鈥淏aby鈥 to a manager at Kitagawa鈥檚 office. He got invited to a concert in Tokyo, and then to Kitagawa鈥檚 home.
鈥淚 hope everyone will come forward because it is an outrageous number of victims,鈥 he told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Tokyo.
Okamoto, 26, estimated dozens of people were selected by Kitagawa as his 鈥渇avorites鈥 鈥 the ones he saw as talented 鈥 to come stay at his home where the alleged abuse occurred. The scandal surfaced after a BBC documentary 鈥淧redator,鈥 in which several victims came forward, aired worldwide in March.
and was never charged.
Johnny鈥檚 released a statement late Wednesday in response to the news conference.
鈥淭he company will continue its unified effort to thoroughly ensure compliance without exception, and tackle strengthening of a system of governance,鈥 it said, according to Kyodo and other Japanese media. It did not directly address the allegations.
The Foreign Correspondents Club had invited Johnny鈥檚 to address the allegations but received no response. Johnny鈥檚 did not respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press.
Shukan Bunshun, a Japanese news magazine, first reported the scandal in 1999. Over the years, the reaction from much of mainstream Japanese society has been muted. Johnny鈥檚, which still exists as a company, is behind some of Japan鈥檚 biggest stars, including SMAP, KinKi Kids and Arashi.
Okamoto said he had not considered legal action. He just hoped his story will get acknowledged.
鈥淭hese are facts. Instead of denying these facts, I hope people will respect and support us,鈥 he told reporters.
Being liked by Kitagawa was a must if one hoped to succeed in Japanese entertainment, and many young performers wanted to be invited to his penthouse in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo, Okamoto said.
Okamoto said he owed a lot to Kitagawa, whom he called 鈥淛ohnny-san,鈥 always adding the honorific. Like many of the other victims, he didn鈥檛 tell his parents, nor blatantly reject Kitagawa.
鈥淲e were kids. We just laughed about it,鈥 said Okamoto.
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Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter
