A total 545 survivors of sexual abuse by disgraced Japanese talent agent Johnny Kitagawa had been paid compensation as of 14 March, according to Smile-Up, the company set up in October 2023 to manage compensation.

The update comes in the wake of public criticism about using civil court procedures with victims as defendants as part of the compensation process. 

Of the 557 people contacted with the compensation offers assessed by the Victim Relief Committee, 549 people, or about 99 %, had agreed to the amount, Smile Up Inc, the company set up to manage the fallout of the scandal, said. 

Nine cases – including three where employment records or the accuracy of the victim report could not be confirmed – had proceeded to civil lawsuits or mediation. 

A total of 1,021 people had applied for compensation since the Victims’ Relief Committee began accepting applications. Of these, 234 people had not responded to attempts to contact them, the committee said. 218 people were told compensation would not be given. 

In October 2023, Smile-Up said it would “specialise in activities such as dialogue with victims and compensation for damages, and will go out of business once these roles are completed”. It added that Smile-Up showed “our determination to completely break away from the late Johnny Kitagawa”.

A new company, Starto Entertainment Inc, started operating in April 2024 after Johnny & Associates was closed in the wake of the scandal.