Musician Kouan Okamoto alleges ‘talent manager’ assaulted him

Japanese musician Kouan Okamoto has accused a powerful Japanese entertainment figure of assault in a shared memoir. Composer Okamoto spoke about alleged sexual harassment by Johnny Kitagawa, a long-time Japanese entertainment icon, in a memoir he shared on Wednesday. The Associated Press typically does not identify victims of alleged sexual assault, but Okamoto chose to identify herself to the media.

Okamoto was part of the instrumental boy group Johnny Jr., who also served as talent pool for ‘Johnny & Associates’. Johnny & Associates was a talent agency managing male actors and singers. Okamoto said in the memoir that he remembered the sound of Kitagawa’s slippers rattling in the hallway. According to Okamoto, he turned on the bed, pretending to be sleepy. According to her, Kitagawa would sometimes give her 10,000-yen (US$100) the next morning, especially when no one was looking, such as in an elevator.

The series ran for four years, beginning in 2012 and continuing until Okamoto left Johnny & Associates. Okamoto’s association with Kitagawa began when a modeling agency sent a video of her (Okamoto) singing Justin Bieber’s “Baby” to a manager in Kitagawa’s office. He is invited to a concert in Tokyo and then to Kitagawa’s home. “I hope everyone will come forward because there is a (large) number of victims,” ​​he told reporters in Tokyo.

Okamoto (26) estimates that dozens of people were selected by Kitagawa as his “favorites” (those whom he saw as talented). These people were taken to stay at his house where they were allegedly mistreated. The case came to light after a BBC documentary “Predator” featured several victims. The documentary aired worldwide in March. Kitagawa died in 2019.

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