Johnny Kitagawa
Encyclopedia
, born , is the founder and president of Johnny & Associates
, a production agency for numerous popular boy band
s in Japan. Kitagawa assembled, produced and managed more than a dozen popular bands, including SMAP
, Arashi
, Kanjani8, Hey! Say! JUMP
, V6, NEWS
and KAT-TUN
. Kitagawa's influence has spread beyond music to the realms of theatre and television. Regarded as one of the most powerful figures in the entertainment industry, he has held a virtual monopoly on the creation of boy bands in Japan for more than 40 years.
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. Kitagawa denied these claims, and in 2002 was awarded an 8.8 million yen
judgment against the newspaper that had published such allegations. An appeal by the newspaper followed, resulting in a partial reversal of the judgment. In the years following the judgment, Kitagawa and his production company have continued to produce entertainment acts that have enjoyed a high degree of commercial success.
in Little Tokyo. In the early 1950s, he traveled to Japan to work at the United States Embassy
. While walking through Tokyo's Yoyogi Park
he encountered a group of boys playing baseball. He recruited them to form a singing group, acting as their manager. He named the group "The Johnnies
". The Johnnies achieved a measure of success by using a then-novel formula of mixing attractive performers singing popular music with coordinated dance routines. The Johnnies were the first all-male pop group in Japan, and set the pattern that Kitagawa would follow with his subsequent acts. Indeed, the term "Johnnies" would come to apply generically to any of the performers under Kitagawa's employ.
, Tokio
, V6
, Arashi
, Tackey & Tsubasa, Kanjani8, NEWS
, KAT-TUN
, KinKi Kids
, Hey! Say! JUMP
and among many others. Kitagawa was able to expand his sphere of influence to include television, as his performers regularly appear on television, with many appearing on their own variety programs. They also regularly act as pitchmen for commercial products, and appear in movies. The success of Kitagawa's performers led to increased profitability, as Johnny & Associates generated 2.9 billion yen in annual profits at the height of the boy band boom. During 1997, performers belonging to the talent agency appeared in more than 40 television programs and another 40 commercials. The success of his company has made Kitagawa one of the richest men in Japan.
Once launched, Kitagawa has been known to use his established groups to induce television stations to report on his newer acts, and ensure favorable press coverage for his acts and himself. Programs that give unfavorable coverage do not receive interviews or television appearance from popular stars managed by Kitagawa.
Kitagawa maintains a high degree of control over his acts, to the extent that their images do not appear on the company website. Performers are expected to maintain a public image that is conducive to marketing to young women; as a result, members of bands produced by Kitagawa avoid public mention of their private lives. Kitagawa himself avoids the public spotlight as well. He rarely permits his photograph to be taken, and does not make public appearances with his groups.
of the youth in his employ had surrounded the agency since 1988, when , a former member of Four Leaves, published a series of diaries under the title . Kita claimed that Kitagawa had used his position of influence over the group to make unwanted sexual advances towards the boys under contract to him. Similar allegations were made in a book published in 1996 by Junya Hiramota, a former member of another of Kitagawa's bands. Hiramota alleged that he had seen Kitagawa force a boy to have sex with him in one of the talent agency's dormitories.
Later, in 1999, the weekly newspaper printed a ten-part series that detailed numerous allegations of sexual improprieties. The accusers were a dozen teenage boys who had been recruited into the Johnny & Associates organization, who spoke on condition of anonymity. In addition, the series also accused Kitagawa of permitting minors in his employ to drink alcohol and smoke. The accusations prompted international newspaper coverage.
The controversy resulted in Yoshihide Sakaue, a member of Parliament
, holding a hearing on the matter in April, 2000. Sakaue said that as a result of the media coverage, and in response to a request from a constituent, he wanted to examine whether government officials had properly investigated complaints about Kitagawa. Officials of the National Police Agency acknowledged that they had investigated Kitagawa's agency, but had not determined that sexual harassment had occurred. Officials did indicate that Kitagawa's company was warned about permitting minors to use alcohol and smoke cigarettes. The National Police and Welfare Ministry indicated that under the Ministry's understanding of the law, even if the allegations against Kitagawa were true, the acts could not be considered child abuse
because Kitagawa was neither parent nor guardian to the boys in his employ. In addition, officials testified that neither the boys nor their parents had pursued a criminal complaint against Kitagawa. Kitagawa denied any wrongdoing, and his attorney characterized the claims as being from disgruntled former employees voicing discontent. Kitagawa sued Shukan Bunshun for libel. Other than Shukan Bunshun, none of the major Japanese media covered the story of the allegations against Kitagawa, the hearing in Parliament, or the Kitagawa lawsuit. The New York Times
attributed this lack of coverage to Kitagawa's influence over the popular media
. Once Shukan Bunshun began publication of the series, Johnny & Associates
denied the newspaper, and the other media owned by its parent organization, access to any of its performers.
After protracted litigation, in 2002 the Tokyo District Court
awarded Kitagawa an 8.8 million yen judgment against Shukan Bunshun, finding that the articles defamed him. Shukan Bunshun appealed the ruling. In a partial reversal of the district court, the Tokyo High Court
in 2003 ruled that the Shukan Bunshun series did in fact defame Kitagawa; however, it ruled that the defamatory content of the articles was limited to the allegations that Kitagawa had provided minors with alcohol and tobacco products. The court found that the Shukan Bunshun had sufficient reason to accept as trustworthy, and publish, the sexual allegations by Kitagawa's former clients. Kitagawa appealed this decision to the Supreme Court
, but in 2004 it rejected his appeal.
was promoted to major band status and has all their thirteen singles, DVD releases and five studio albums to date reach number one. In 2007, Hey! Say! 7, another group within the Kitagawa stable, debuted as a temporary act. Shortly after its debut, the band became the youngest boy band to chart a number one single, with an average age under 15. Kitagawa, as of September, 2007, continued to be involved in the regular operation of Johnny & Associates
.
Johnny & Associates
is a talent agency formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1962. Johnny & Associates trains and promotes groups of male idols, collectively known as , in Japan.-1962–1989:...
, a production agency for numerous popular boy band
Boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...
s in Japan. Kitagawa assembled, produced and managed more than a dozen popular bands, including SMAP
SMAP
SMAP is a Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates. While originally consisting of six members, the current group members are Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori...
, Arashi
Arashi
is a Japanese boy band formed under the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates, which announced the formation of the group on November 3, 1999 in Honolulu, Hawaii...
, Kanjani8, Hey! Say! JUMP
Hey! Say! JUMP
Hey! Say! JUMP is a ten-member Japanese boy band under the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates. The name Hey! Say! refers to the fact that all the members were born in the Heisei period and JUMP is an acronym for Johnny's Ultra Music Power...
, V6, NEWS
NeWS
NeWS was a windowing system developed by Sun Microsystems in the mid 1980s. Originally known as "SunDew", its primary authors were James Gosling and David S. H. Rosenthal...
and KAT-TUN
KAT-TUN
KAT-TUN is a Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates in 2001. The group's name is an acronym based on the first letter of each member's family name until the departure of Jin Akanishi in 2010. As of 2010, KAT-TUN stands for Kazuya KAmenashi, Junnosuke Taguchi, Koki Tanaka, Tatsuya Ueda,...
. Kitagawa's influence has spread beyond music to the realms of theatre and television. Regarded as one of the most powerful figures in the entertainment industry, he has held a virtual monopoly on the creation of boy bands in Japan for more than 40 years.
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. Kitagawa denied these claims, and in 2002 was awarded an 8.8 million yen
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
judgment against the newspaper that had published such allegations. An appeal by the newspaper followed, resulting in a partial reversal of the judgment. In the years following the judgment, Kitagawa and his production company have continued to produce entertainment acts that have enjoyed a high degree of commercial success.
Early life
Born in the United States, Kitagawa was raised in California through high school. His father Taido was a Buddhist priest and was the third director of the Koyasan Buddhist TempleKoyasan Buddhist Temple
, also known as Koyasan Buddhist Temple, is a temple located in Los Angeles, California in Little Tokyo. Founded in 1912, it is one of the oldest existing Buddhist temples in the North American region, and possibly the first Vajrayana Buddhist temple established in America before the emergence of...
in Little Tokyo. In the early 1950s, he traveled to Japan to work at the United States Embassy
Embassy of the United States in Tokyo
The Embassy of the United States in Tokyo represents the United States to Japan. Along with consulates general in Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, and Naha, the embassy provides assistance to American citizens and issues visas to foreign nationals who wish to visit or immigrate to the United...
. While walking through Tokyo's Yoyogi Park
Yoyogi Park
is one of the largest parks in Tokyo, Japan located adjacent to Harajuku Station and Meiji Shrine in Shibuya.What is now Yoyogi Park was the site of the first successful powered aircraft flight in Japan, on December 19, 1910, by Captain Yoshitoshi Tokugawa, after which it became an army parade ground...
he encountered a group of boys playing baseball. He recruited them to form a singing group, acting as their manager. He named the group "The Johnnies
Johnnys
was a Japanese boy band created by Johnny Kitagawa before the formation of the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates.The group was formed in April 1962 and lasted until November 20, 1967. They are considered one of the first of Japan's idol groups. Johnnys is also an abbreviation for "Johnny's...
". The Johnnies achieved a measure of success by using a then-novel formula of mixing attractive performers singing popular music with coordinated dance routines. The Johnnies were the first all-male pop group in Japan, and set the pattern that Kitagawa would follow with his subsequent acts. Indeed, the term "Johnnies" would come to apply generically to any of the performers under Kitagawa's employ.
Major success
In 1968, Kitagawa achieved wider success with a four-member boy band known as . The song and dance group met with success, as reflected by seven consecutive appearances on the annual invitation-only , beginning in 1970. Four Leaves performed together for ten years before disbanding in 1978. Later, in 2002, Kitagawa oversaw the band's reunion. Kitagawa went on to assemble, produce and manage many of the top boy bands in the country, including acts such as SMAPSMAP
SMAP is a Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates. While originally consisting of six members, the current group members are Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori...
, Tokio
Tokio (band)
Tokio is a Japanese rock/pop band formed by Johnny & Associates that debuted in 1994. It is made up of five men who were signed with Sony Music Entertainment from 1994 to 2001, with Universal Music Japan from 2001 to 2008, and are now signed under J Storm, a label owned by Johnny & Associates...
, V6
V6 (band)
V6 is a six-member Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates. The group debuted on November 1, 1995 with the single "Music for the People", which was used as the image song for the World Cup of Volleyball in 1995...
, Arashi
Arashi
is a Japanese boy band formed under the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates, which announced the formation of the group on November 3, 1999 in Honolulu, Hawaii...
, Tackey & Tsubasa, Kanjani8, NEWS
NeWS
NeWS was a windowing system developed by Sun Microsystems in the mid 1980s. Originally known as "SunDew", its primary authors were James Gosling and David S. H. Rosenthal...
, KAT-TUN
KAT-TUN
KAT-TUN is a Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates in 2001. The group's name is an acronym based on the first letter of each member's family name until the departure of Jin Akanishi in 2010. As of 2010, KAT-TUN stands for Kazuya KAmenashi, Junnosuke Taguchi, Koki Tanaka, Tatsuya Ueda,...
, KinKi Kids
KinKi Kids
is a Japanese duo consisting of Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto under the talent agency Johnny & Associates. Although the members share the same surname, the only relation they have to each other is that they both hail from the Kinki region, hence the duo's name....
, Hey! Say! JUMP
Hey! Say! JUMP
Hey! Say! JUMP is a ten-member Japanese boy band under the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates. The name Hey! Say! refers to the fact that all the members were born in the Heisei period and JUMP is an acronym for Johnny's Ultra Music Power...
and among many others. Kitagawa was able to expand his sphere of influence to include television, as his performers regularly appear on television, with many appearing on their own variety programs. They also regularly act as pitchmen for commercial products, and appear in movies. The success of Kitagawa's performers led to increased profitability, as Johnny & Associates generated 2.9 billion yen in annual profits at the height of the boy band boom. During 1997, performers belonging to the talent agency appeared in more than 40 television programs and another 40 commercials. The success of his company has made Kitagawa one of the richest men in Japan.
The formula
Kitagawa repeatedly has employed a standard formula in the development and marketing of his acts. Johnny & Associates holds open tryouts for potential performers. The production agency recruits boys as young as ten into a talent pool known as Johnny's Juniors. Successful applicants live in a company dormitory and attend a company-run school. They train to hone their showmanship in the form of singing, dancing and acting. Kitagawa holds an annual summer festival known as "Johnny's Summary". Promising members of Johnny's Juniors appear alongside of established members of Kitagawa's fold. The junior members act as background dancers for the major acts to allow for name recognition prior to being launched as a separate group. The members of the Juniors also appear in on "Hachi-ji da J", a weekly television variety show. Members sing, dance, and perform in comedic sketches as they further develop the skills to graduate to a major act. Kitagawa's focus is on the development of his group as complete entertainers. Shonentai, for example, did not release a single until it had been together for more than seven years. "I'm not very interested in records," Kitagawa said in a 1996 interview. "Once you release a record, you have to sell that record. You have to push one song only. You can't think of anything else. It's not good for the artist."Once launched, Kitagawa has been known to use his established groups to induce television stations to report on his newer acts, and ensure favorable press coverage for his acts and himself. Programs that give unfavorable coverage do not receive interviews or television appearance from popular stars managed by Kitagawa.
Kitagawa maintains a high degree of control over his acts, to the extent that their images do not appear on the company website. Performers are expected to maintain a public image that is conducive to marketing to young women; as a result, members of bands produced by Kitagawa avoid public mention of their private lives. Kitagawa himself avoids the public spotlight as well. He rarely permits his photograph to be taken, and does not make public appearances with his groups.
Sexual harassment claims and libel suit
Rumors concerning Kitagawa and possible sexual harassmentSexual harassment
Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
of the youth in his employ had surrounded the agency since 1988, when , a former member of Four Leaves, published a series of diaries under the title . Kita claimed that Kitagawa had used his position of influence over the group to make unwanted sexual advances towards the boys under contract to him. Similar allegations were made in a book published in 1996 by Junya Hiramota, a former member of another of Kitagawa's bands. Hiramota alleged that he had seen Kitagawa force a boy to have sex with him in one of the talent agency's dormitories.
Later, in 1999, the weekly newspaper printed a ten-part series that detailed numerous allegations of sexual improprieties. The accusers were a dozen teenage boys who had been recruited into the Johnny & Associates organization, who spoke on condition of anonymity. In addition, the series also accused Kitagawa of permitting minors in his employ to drink alcohol and smoke. The accusations prompted international newspaper coverage.
The controversy resulted in Yoshihide Sakaue, a member of Parliament
Diet of Japan
The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...
, holding a hearing on the matter in April, 2000. Sakaue said that as a result of the media coverage, and in response to a request from a constituent, he wanted to examine whether government officials had properly investigated complaints about Kitagawa. Officials of the National Police Agency acknowledged that they had investigated Kitagawa's agency, but had not determined that sexual harassment had occurred. Officials did indicate that Kitagawa's company was warned about permitting minors to use alcohol and smoke cigarettes. The National Police and Welfare Ministry indicated that under the Ministry's understanding of the law, even if the allegations against Kitagawa were true, the acts could not be considered child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
because Kitagawa was neither parent nor guardian to the boys in his employ. In addition, officials testified that neither the boys nor their parents had pursued a criminal complaint against Kitagawa. Kitagawa denied any wrongdoing, and his attorney characterized the claims as being from disgruntled former employees voicing discontent. Kitagawa sued Shukan Bunshun for libel. Other than Shukan Bunshun, none of the major Japanese media covered the story of the allegations against Kitagawa, the hearing in Parliament, or the Kitagawa lawsuit. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
attributed this lack of coverage to Kitagawa's influence over the popular media
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
. Once Shukan Bunshun began publication of the series, Johnny & Associates
Johnny & Associates
is a talent agency formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1962. Johnny & Associates trains and promotes groups of male idols, collectively known as , in Japan.-1962–1989:...
denied the newspaper, and the other media owned by its parent organization, access to any of its performers.
After protracted litigation, in 2002 the Tokyo District Court
Tokyo District Court
is a district court located at 1-1-4 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. -References:...
awarded Kitagawa an 8.8 million yen judgment against Shukan Bunshun, finding that the articles defamed him. Shukan Bunshun appealed the ruling. In a partial reversal of the district court, the Tokyo High Court
Tokyo High Court
is a high court in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The Intellectual Property High Court is a special branch of Tokyo High Court....
in 2003 ruled that the Shukan Bunshun series did in fact defame Kitagawa; however, it ruled that the defamatory content of the articles was limited to the allegations that Kitagawa had provided minors with alcohol and tobacco products. The court found that the Shukan Bunshun had sufficient reason to accept as trustworthy, and publish, the sexual allegations by Kitagawa's former clients. Kitagawa appealed this decision to the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of Japan
The Supreme Court of Japan , located in Chiyoda, Tokyo is the highest court in Japan. It has ultimate judicial authority to interpret the Japanese constitution and decide questions of national law...
, but in 2004 it rejected his appeal.
Post-litigation activities
In 2006, the boy band KAT-TUNKAT-TUN
KAT-TUN is a Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates in 2001. The group's name is an acronym based on the first letter of each member's family name until the departure of Jin Akanishi in 2010. As of 2010, KAT-TUN stands for Kazuya KAmenashi, Junnosuke Taguchi, Koki Tanaka, Tatsuya Ueda,...
was promoted to major band status and has all their thirteen singles, DVD releases and five studio albums to date reach number one. In 2007, Hey! Say! 7, another group within the Kitagawa stable, debuted as a temporary act. Shortly after its debut, the band became the youngest boy band to chart a number one single, with an average age under 15. Kitagawa, as of September, 2007, continued to be involved in the regular operation of Johnny & Associates
Johnny & Associates
is a talent agency formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1962. Johnny & Associates trains and promotes groups of male idols, collectively known as , in Japan.-1962–1989:...
.