Johnny Kitagawa

John Hiromu Kitagawa (Japanese name Hiromu Kitagawa (喜多川 擴, Kitagawa Hiromu); October 23, 1931 – July 9, 2019), known professionally as Johnny Kitagawa (ジャニー喜多川, Janī Kitagawa), was a Japanese business magnate, promoter, record producer. He was best known as the founder of Johnny & Associates, a talent agency for numerous popular boy bands in Japan. In 2023, after his death, a BBC documentary, Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop, reignited discussion of allegations that he had taken advantage of his position to engage in improper sexual relationships with boys under contract to his talent agency. This led to an independent probe which concluded that Kitagawa had "repeated and widely" abused boys in his organizations since the 1970s.

Kitagawa assembled, produced and managed more than a dozen popular bands, including Tanokin Trio, Hey! Say! JUMP, SMAP, Arashi, Kanjani8, V6, NEWS and KAT-TUN. Kitagawa's influence spread beyond music to the realms of theatre and television. Regarded as one of the most powerful figures in the Japanese entertainment industry, he held a virtual monopoly on the creation of boy bands in Japan for more than 40 years. Kitagawa also founded the idol trainee system, where talents are signed on to the agency and trained until they are ready to debut professionally, which has been adopted by other idol industries. Kitagawa himself avoided the public spotlight. He rarely permitted his photograph to be taken, and did not make public appearances with his groups. He held the Guinness World Records for the most No. 1 artists, the most No. 1 singles, and the most concerts produced by an individual. A memorial concert was held after his death in 2019, with 154 of Kitagawa's artists and other celebrities in attendance. Until the release of the documentary in 2023, he remained highly regarded in Japan after his death.

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, though no criminal charges were ever filed against him. In 2023, four years after his death, his sexual abuse was publicized more widely after a report concluded that he committed sexual abuse from the early 1970s until the mid-2010s, including the rape of hundreds of boys who were members of Johnny & Associates before their debut. As of 2023, a reported number of 478 persons have claimed to have been victimized by Kitagawa, of those, 325 sought compensation, and only 150 have been confirmed to have belonged in the company. Later in the year, Johnny & Associates announced its name would change to Smile Up, and that anything bearing the name "Johnny", such as related companies and performing groups, would be changed to remove Kitagawa's name. A follow-up program by the BBC called "Our World: The Shadow of a Predator" aired in 2024.