Japan's McDonald's and Asahi Say "No Recontract with Johnny's"
UN Human Rights Council Also Investigates... UN Report Scheduled for June Next Year
As investigations revealed that the late Johnny Kitagawa, founder of the major Japanese entertainment agency 'Johnny's Office (Johnny's)', sexually abused former affiliated entertainers, advertisers have begun responding by canceling contract renewals with Johnny's talents.
On the 12th, Mainichi Shimbun reported that McDonald's Japan announced it will not renew contracts after expiration for advertisements featuring talents affiliated with Johnny Kitagawa's sexual abuse issue.
McDonald's Japan employs Takuya Kimura, who is also well-known in Korea as a film actor, as an advertising model. McDonald's stated, "We cannot tolerate any human rights violations," explaining the background of their boycott of Johnny's affiliated actors.
Daiichi Sankyo, which advertises the comprehensive cold medicine 'Lulu Attack Series,' uses Jun Matsumoto, a member of the Japanese idol group Arashi, as its advertising model. Daiichi Sankyo notified that "if the agency does not establish victim relief measures and recurrence prevention plans, the current contract will end upon expiration," and added, "We will not enter into a new contract."
They further added, "We demand that measures be taken, including strengthening cooperation and compensation for victims."
The boycott of Johnny's affiliated entertainers continues within the industry. On the 8th, Asahi Group Holdings held a press conference announcing that they will no longer use Johnny's affiliated talents as group advertising models. Asahi Group is currently under contract with Arashi's Kazunari Ninomiya and actor Toma Ikuta for Asahi beer advertisements.
Additionally, Suntory Holdings, Nissan Motor, Nippon Life Insurance, Kirin Holdings, and others, who have run advertisements featuring Johnny's talents such as non-alcoholic beer commercials, have clearly stated their intention not to proceed with advertisements involving Johnny's affiliated entertainers in the future.
On the 30th of last month, an external expert investigation team formed to understand the Johnny's sexual exploitation issue released findings that "extensive sexual exploitation was repeatedly carried out over a long period."
The team reached this conclusion after hearing from 41 individuals, including former trainees, entertainers, and related personnel of Johnny's who reported sexual violence.
According to the investigation team, Johnny Kitagawa committed sexual violence from the 1950s until the mid-2010s shortly before his death, with the number of victims estimated to be at least in the hundreds.
In response, Julie Fujishima Geiko, daughter of Johnny Kitagawa's sister Mary Kitagawa and the successor president, announced on the 7th that she "acknowledges the harms of family-run management" and will step down as president to provide compensation.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Human Rights Council's working group is investigating the sexual violence incidents at Johnny's Office and plans to submit a related report to the council in June next year.
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