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| Johnny Kitagawa |
Johnny Kitagawa was and still is known as the godfather of j-pop (Japanese pop music). It was said that he could take someone from the streets and turn them into this global sensation. But this very man was also the most vile predator the entertainment industry has ever witnessed.
Everyone knows being an idol is not for the weak. But in order to become an idol at JNA (Johnny and associates) some said that you had to be a victim first or even sell your soul to the devil himself.
Every year thousands of male trainees would audition to be a part of JNA and have their dreams of becoming an idol come true, only to face assault and trauma. Let's talk about how Johnny Kitagawa created japan's most popular boy bands and got away with assaulting them over and over again.
Koji Matsushida was one day randomly discovered by Johnny at a concert. It was truly a dream come true for the minor. He was an idol before he knew it but also Johnny's new victim. After he retired from the boy band, koji wrote a book about everything he had witnessed in those years. It was a warning for all the young male trainees out there.
From the book a lot of interesting and terrifying information came out. Johnny basically treated the trainees as his commodities of business. He wanted them to be who he said they were and not have any form of identity. But things were much deeper than that.
After kojis book, allegations came flooding in. One victim stated, "When I was lying in my bed he suddenly burst into the dorms and I was alone. There was no one else in the bed. He slid in beside me. I thought he was holding something strange. He took it and rubbed it on my private parts...he continued to assault me."
Koji stated in his book that during his trainee days for four to five years, Johnny would invite him into his room every night and assault him. Koji said that it was confusing because Johnny had made them feel like it was an act of love. Even if they could see right through his manipulations they did not feel they had the right to say no because after all Johnny was their Godfather.
After koji debuted and became an idol he found a little power. He would reject Johnny's advances here and there but Johnny did not really seem to care. He just moved on to younger trainees.
In 2011 Koji passed away from liver cancer. But he opened a door for other victims. Many victims came forward but it was all swept under the rug. That is the amount of power JNA had over the media.
After Koji another idol named Natakani came out with his book. He was the member of Johnny's very first boy band The Johnnies.
He alleged that Johnny would invite them over to his apartment. One time they were alone. He did not think he had anything to worry about, he trusted Johnny like his older brother. But that is when the assault began. He remembered being confused because Johnny made it seem so natural and normal.
Natakani and the other band members did not understand at the time what had happened to them. But when they grew up they saw clearly. Many of them fell into drugs to help them cope with the pain.
AFTERMATH:
Johnny Kitagawa has assaulted and abused countless amount of male trainees in his 50 years career. Yet he is still considered as this Godfather of J-pop.
Well there are a couple of reasons behind it. But mostly because like many other cultures most Japanese believe that "men cannot be victims of rape or assault". It has always been hard for male victims to come out. Japans law until 2017 did not recognize that men can be victims of sexual violence.
Also most of the allegations started coming out after his death. And the Japanese also do not like to speak ill of the dead they say. Though many people stood by the victims most did not want to be the wave makers.
Lastly, Johnny Kitagawa was the man with undeniable power. The very power that got him out of prison even though he was proven guilty in one of the trials.
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