Japan Press Weekly

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2023 May 31 - June 6 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

JCP urges Cultural Affairs Agency to tackle harassment and violence issues in arts, culture, and entertainment fields

Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Miyamoto Takeshi on June 2 at a House of Representatives Committee meeting on culture and sports urged the government to take action without delay to eradicate harassment and violence in the arts, culture, sports and entertainment industries.

Miyamoto referred to sexual violence cases involving Johnny Kitagawa, Japan’s most powerful pop-talent agency’s founder, and pointed out that as shown in these cases, sexual assault and violence in the entertainment field have become a serious problem. He asked what measures the Cultural Affairs Agency is taking to deal with this situation.

In reply, Deputy Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Sugiura Hisahiro said that the agency has published guidelines which aim to protect artists and other cultural professionals from unfair work contracts. He also said that the agency has provided counseling services and training programs as measures to prevent harassment.

The JCP lawmaker noted that the Johnny Kitagawa sexual abuse scandal was brought up in the Diet 23 years ago, but no proper response was made officially at that time, which led to the continuation of child abuse and sexual assault by Kitagawa. He said that taking this fact seriously, the cultural agency should conduct a fact-finding survey regarding harassment and violence in the arts and entertainment industries.

Sugiura in reply showed an unwillingness to accept the JCP lawmakers’ demand by using the need to respect the rights and privacy of people concerned as an excuse.

Miyamoto said that the cultural agency should work more aggressively to eliminate harassment and violence in the broadly defined cultural fields.

Past related article:
> Grooming is sexual abuse [April 21, 2023]