Smile-Up’s president announces he will step down

Noriyuki Higashiyama, president of Smile-Up, has announced he will resign from his position on Wednesday, as the company continues to pay out compensation to victims of sexual abuse committed by his late founder, Johnny Kitagawa. The leadership transition occurs three years after Kitagawa's abuse of young performers was exposed by his former talent agency.

Masayuki Yamada, who currently serves as Smile-Up's chief compliance officer, will take over as president while retaining his existing role. Higashiyama explained at a press conference in Tokyo that the change reflects the company's need for an individual with specialized legal knowledge to oversee its ongoing efforts to compensate abuse victims.

He emphasized that this does not signify the end of the victim compensation process, as both the company and he remain committed to ensuring every victim receives proper compensation, even after his presidency ends. Julie Keiko Fujishima, Kitagawa's niece and a Smile-Up representative director, will remain in her position. Johnny & Associates, once a dominant force in Japan's male idol and pop music scene, was founded by Kitagawa, who was one of the most influential figures in Japanese entertainment before his death in 2019 from a stroke at age 87.

While allegations of abuse by Kitagawa were first published in 1999, it wasn't until 2023 that the scandal erupted publicly following the release of a BBC documentary titled "Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop." In March 2024, Smile-Up disclosed that two former agency staff members had also been implicated in sexual abuse. As of Monday, Smile-Up had received claims for damages from 1,047 individuals, with 578 receiving compensation, 231 deemed ineligible, and 226 uncontactable.