fujishima julie is johnny kitagawa's niece. >> translator: we saw mr. kitagawa and his sister as supreme figures. looking back i'm ashamed of myself. that way of thinking contributed to the problem allowing for more victims. >> kitagawa died in 2019. he was once hailed as japan's biggest male j-pop producer. more than 20 men have accused him of sexual misconduct. last week an independent team of experts released its report on the allegations, and it concluded kitagawa repeatedly sexually abused minors represented by the agency for decades. it recommended the president be replaced to allow a new start for the agency. nine people who say they were abused by kitagawa watched the news conference together. they've been speaking out about what they allegedly suffered. >> translator: i'm glad the agency admitted what happened and apologized. a path to relief has finally opened up. >> translator: what i appreciate most is that ms. fujishima took part in the news conference. she barely looked down. she appeared to be speaking in her own words, not those from a s

translation: both the agency itself and myself as a person _ recognise that six abuse byjohnny kitagawawatching. translation: | believe that | an agency that retains johnny's name should not exist. she acknowledged and sincerely apologised for what happened, i but it's not like the emotional scars have gone. _ it is very difficult to overstate the clout, the power, the influence thatjohnny kitagawa held overjapan�*s entertainment industry. if you were a young japanese teenager who wanted to become a pop star, who wanted to break through, his agency was your gateway. pressure grew on the agency when the allegations resurfaced earlier this year in a bbc documentary where one of the victims, who wanted to remain anonymous, told our colleague mobeen azhar that their career would have been harmed if they did not comply with kitagawa's sexual demands. translation: jonny told me, "go and have a bath". - johnny filled up the bath. i thought, "isn't he kind? " but then he reached for my trousers. - later several boys told me, "you have to put up with it| or you won't succeed". more people came f

both the agency itself and myself as a person recognized that sex abuse byjohnny kitagawa took place.pologize to his victims from the bottom of my heart. the agency had promised to compensate the victims, some of whom had been watching. i believe that an agency that retains johnny's name should not exist. she acknowledged and sincerely apologised for what happened. but it's not like the emotional scars are gone. it is very difficult to overstate the clout, the power, the influence that johnny kitagawa held over japan's entertainment industry. if you are a young japanese teenager who wanted to become a pop star, who wanted to break through his agency was your gateway. pressure grew on the agency when the allegations resurfaced earlier this year in a bbc documentary where one of the victims who wanted to remain anonymous told our colleague mobeen azhar that their career would have been harmed if they did not comply with kitagawa sexual demands. johnny told me, go and have a bath. johnny filled up the bath. i thought, isn't he kind? but then he reached for my trousers. later, several boy

thejohnny & associates agency founder, johnny kitagawa, is accused of abusing a large number of youngainment industry and his talent company has held a near—monopoly onjapanese boy bands for decades. shaima khalil has more. injapan, home to the world's second—biggest music market, one company has dominated for decades. johnny & associates is the country's biggest j—pop star—maker — but for years, rumours of sexual abuse have surrounded the founder of the all—male talent agency, the late johnny kitagawa. now, a sign of respect and remorse in a hugely significant moment. before stepping down as ceo, julie fujishima has, for the first time, admitted that abuse of young boys had taken place in her uncle's organisation. translation: both the agency and myself as a person - recognise that sex abuse byjohnny kitagawa took place. i apologise to his victims from the bottom of my heart. the agency had promised to compensate the victims, some of whom had been watching. translation: | believe that | an agency that retains johnny's name should not exist. translation: she acknowledged and sincerely

now, this is one of the few public photographs ofjohnny kitagawa, who was the head ofjapan�*s biggest known — is a huge industry, and last week there was shock when investigators found that kitagawa "extensively" abused hundreds of boys and young men at the agency over a six—decade career. he neverfaced criminal prosecution. today, his niece — the current chief executive of the agency — resigned and offered a public apology to her uncle's victims. 0ur tokyo correspondent shaimaa khalil reports. injapan, home to the world's second biggest music market, one company has dominated for decades. johnny and associates is the country's biggestj—pop star—maker, but for years rumours of sexual abuse have surrounded the founder of the all—male talent agency, the latejohnny kitagawa. now a sign of respect and remorse, in a hugely significant moment. before stepping down as ceo, julie fujishima has for the first time admitted that abuse of young boys had taken place in her uncle's organisation. translation: both the agency itself and myself as a person _ recognise that sex abuse byjohnny kitagawa

some of the abuse happened while boys were staying at kitagawa�*s home.and have a bath." - johnny filled up the bath. i thought, "isn't he kind?" but then he reached for my trousers. i said, "i will take them off myself," but he replied with silence. and that terrified me. later, several boys told me, "you have to put up with it or you won't succeed." really disturbing testimony there from survivors of abuse. of course, today there has been this apology and actually, it�*s a really significant step because it�*s the first time really thatjulie fujishima has acknowledged that there was any real significant misconduct. in terms of survivors who are out there at the moment, and i have had so many messages today from colleagues, from peers and people who i know injapan on the ground, they are still really unsure what this means in terms of the company itself. and then the broader question of why this story was an open secret for so long. so much of the japanese press just didn�*t report on it, and i think that is still a real issue under real problem. just a

julie fujishima said she now wanted to help and care for all the victims ofjohnny kitagawa — who diedg men while running his �*johnny and associates' organisation — over more than six decades — before his death. earlier we spoke to our tokyo correspondent shaimaa khalil who gave us the latest live in tokyo. we asked whether the resignation ofjulie fujishima is a new start for the agency. this is a hugely significant moment forjapan�*s entertainment industry. the fallout from the sexual abuse allegations scandal surrounding the country's most powerful talent agency has gone all the way to the top, forcing the current ceo to step down. for the first time, julie fukushima has admitted that sexual abuse of young boys had taken place in her uncle's agency. she apologised to the victims and said that the company will compensate them. she also announced her resignation. noriyuki nagashima, a household name here injapan, a veteran entertainer and one of the very first talents that the agency had recruited is now her successor. he is now the new ceo. one of the most significant moments today i

some of the abuse happened while boys were staying at kitagawa's home.for the first time. translation: johnny told me, "go and have a bath." - he filled up the bath and i thought, "isn't he kind?" but then he reached for my trousers. i said, "i'll take them off myself." but he replied with silence and that terrified me. later, several boys told me, "you have to put up with it or you won't succeed." really harrowing testimony there, but unsurprisingly, perhaps, a lot of the japanese press continue to turn a blind eye even when this film went out. it was only when there was a lot of chatter in the online space that woods picked up most of eventually, the un even made a statement about this and said they were sending a task force to japan to look at application in the workforce within the nsame industry, and it very recently, today, the ceo of the company and also had done that —— happened to be the niece of johnny kitagawa public he apologised, a huge step forward. the first time there's been an acknowledgement of any wrongdoing. she admitted there had bee

johnny & associates admitted for the first time that johna kitagawa possibly abused hundreds of young boys for decades. the agency promised to make amends. it also raised concerns. >> translator: what i really want people to understand is that each performer has made a real effort and earned their own prestige. i hope support for them will continue. >> reporter: but support for the agency is dwindling with at least nine major japanese companies announcing suspension of ads featuring johnny's talent. others are continuing the ads, but two say they won't renew their cracks until they're satisfied that the agency has properly addressed the alleged abuse. mcdonald's says it won't renew its contracts at all. a major japanese business group says using performers from the agency constitutes a corporate acknowledgement of sexual misconduct. and businesses could be condemned for that. >> translator: i feel very sorry for the performers, but they have various options such as moving to other talent agencies. >> reporter: some who claim to have been victimize by kitagawa are concerned about the p

kitagawa was arguably the most influentialfigure injapan�*s entertainment industry and his agency hasly onjapanese boy bands for decades. he died in 2019. now, it's a big day for the vauxhall plant at ellesmere port near liverpool. today it becomes the first car factory in britain to make electric vehicles only. it's also a world first for its owner — auto giant stellantis, which also owns peugeot and citroen,as it's the company's first—ever ev—only factory. later today the first combo electric van rolls off the production line. earlier, our correspondent hannah miller was in ellesmere port and told us about the atmosphere in the factory. people here certainly very excited this morning. this is a day that many people here didn't think would come, frankly, at certain times over the last decade or so. it's been a really turbulent time for the car industry, but the production line here is now up and running this morning. and we can talk to diane, who is the plant director here. morning to you. i mean, we'rejust trying to sum it up, really. how significant a day is this for you? it's huge

she's the niece of the late johnny kitagawa, but she owns 100% of the shares.are of the money, taking care of compensation for the victims. and again, many question marks on whether she's actually left the building, left the company. there's also one big thing that remains unchanged, which is the name of the company, johnny and associates. for decades, this has been a name that was synonymous with talent, with fame, withj—pop and pop culture. but now it is associated with a man and a brand that are in the midst of the worst sexual abuse scandal. and many victims and many survivors have actually commented today when they were reacting to the press conference that not only is it bad for business, it is quite insulting to the hundreds and hundreds of victims and what they went through in that talent agency. a chinese coffee chain which began selling latte drinks infused with a famous brand of chinese rice liquor has ordered an emergency restock of supplies, after an unexpected boom in sales. luckin coffee's special lattes are infused with maotai baijiu, a pricey a