General News

U.N. Human Rights Council Team to Visit Japan, Meet Ex-Johnny’s Members

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
The United Nations headquarters in New York

By Yuichi Morii / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

15:11 JST, July 15, 2023

GENEVA — The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) announced Thursday that experts of a U.N. working group will visit Japan from July 24 to Aug. 4.

During the visit, the Working Group on Business and Human Rights will meet with former members of entertainment agency Johnny & Associates, Inc.

The group’s role includes offering advice on human rights violations in the business world. The group is scheduled to discuss progress on the Japanese government’s action plan on business and human rights. The U.N. group will compile its findings and submit a report to the Human Rights Council in June next year.

A former member of the entertainment agency who claims to have been sexually abused by Johnny Kitagawa — the founder of the all-male talent firm who died in 2019 — said the U.N. group had contacted him requesting a meeting. Several others had also agreed to meet with the U.N. group, the former member added.