Johnny & Associates Inc. may never recapture the influence it wielded within Japan's entertainment industry due to the scars left by the sexual abuse perpetrated over decades by its late founder, even after on Monday announcing a name change and revealing a new agency will be created.
Scandal-hit male talent agency Johnny & Associates Inc. says it will change its name and establish a new firm to manage its performers in a bid to distance itself from late namesake founder Johnny Kitagawa, as it attempts to repair the reputational damage caused by decades of his sexual abuse.