BBC documentary airs sexual abuse allegations against Johnny Kitagawa

On 7 March 2023, the BBC aired "Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop", a documentary about Johnny Kitagawa, the founder of the talent agency Johnny & Associates, which dominated Japan's male idol industry. Kitagawa died in 2019.

The programme featured former agency trainees who said Kitagawa sexually abused them when they were boys, with allegations spanning several decades. It also examined why the claims had never led to criminal action in Japan, pointing to the agency's influence over the media and the industry's reluctance to report on the matter.

Allegations about Kitagawa had surfaced in Japanese weekly magazines since the 1960s, and a 2004 civil court ruling in a defamation case upheld the key claims of abuse. Yet mainstream Japanese media had largely stayed silent.

The documentary prompted wider public attention in Japan, encouraged more victims to speak out, and led to an independent investigation, an apology from the agency, and eventually its renaming as SMILE-UP. to handle compensation.