Advertisers Drop Once-Mighty J-Pop Agency Over Sex Abuse Scandal
- Johnny’s-backed stars lose sponsors on reputation risk
- Japan agency confirmed decades of abuse by founder Kitagawa
The office building of Johnny & Associates Inc. in Tokyo, Japan.
Photographer: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images
Two of Japan’s top beer companies, Suntory Holdings Ltd. and Kirin Holdings Co., said they will cut commercial ties with J-pop talent agency Johnny & Associates. Inc., joining the growing number of companies pushing the firm for more changes after it acknowledged its late founder sexually abused hundreds of young boys over more than four decades.
For years the dominant talent agency in the country, Johnny’s — named for founder Johnny Kitagawa — is also under pressure from longtime clients Nissan Motor Co., Japan Airlines Co. and McDonald’s Japan. Companies that have used pop stars on Johnny’s roster in their advertising campaigns now say they can’t work with artists from the agency without more evidence of reform.