The world of entertainment is full of ups and downs, unfortunately not everything is pretty, such is the case of the seiyuus, where Johnny Kitagawa has recently given much to talk about, who has recently been involved in a scandal that reflects the lack of exception of public figures to the suffering of mistreatment, because every day hundreds of people are victims of such harassment and worst of all is that even knowing superiors turn a blind eye.
A few weeks ago Julie Fujishima niece of Johnny Kitagawa confirmed the harassment she had suffered from her uncle, but who is Johnny Kitagawa, he was a well-known businessman in Japan, he was the founder of Johnny & Associates a talent agency also known as Johnny’s, undoubtedly one of the most powerful men in the industry before his death in 2019.
Johnny Kitagawa harassed seiyuus who wanted to work in the media.
Rumors and accusations always hovered around Johnny Kitagawa, but in front of an entertainment industry mogul, what can an aspiring artist do, Japanese society was aware of everything, the accusations were an open secret, children and teenagers gave testimonies and lawsuits arose, but all this was in vain, if you wanted to be an artist this is the price you had to pay.
As a result of such accusations and other situations towards Johnny Kitagawa, the Japanese government approved a cabinet meeting, where they talked about the reality faced by people working in the entertainment industry, more than 20% of actors, stuntmen, voice actors and announcers said they had suffered some kind of harassment, it is estimated that one in four voice actors and announcers claimed to have suffered some kind of harassment.
A survey of 640 people at the end of last year, among people working in the arts and entertainment industry, highlighted that voice actors and announcers had the highest percentage of those who had suffered harassment, which highlighted having been touched more than the account or being forced to have some kind of relationship, the percentages given by this survey are as follows:
- 25,7% actors and dubbing actors
- 20,4% writers
- 16,7% content creators
In terms of general harassment, artists reported that someone they worked with said hurtful things to them, with just under 70% of voice actors and announcers and just over 50% of actors and stuntmen, all of whom seem to have been accused for years, but were always stopped, the victims kept quiet or were completely ignored.
The government of Japan plans to work to prevent further damage, as well as to compensate those affected, and will try to implement rules that will lead to a healthy coexistence in the fields of art and culture. Many people question these new measures, because the damage has already been done and nothing can remedy it.
The lives of the artists we admire may have been built on abuse and humiliation, what was once a prestigious company is now synonymous with shame, so much so that the company will split in two and will be renamed Smile-Up, one of its most important tasks will be to compensate the victims. Such is the sad reality for voice actors, announcers, artists, singers, etc. The case of Johnny Kitagawa is one of many, it is on everyone’s lips because he was an important person, but imagine how many people are still doing this and getting away with it?
