Johnny's Scandal's President Quits as US Lawsuit Threat Looms
SMILE-UP.'s Higashiyama Yoshiki steps down after three years of victim compensation, replacing himself with a lawyer. But new staff abuse claims and a pending US lawsuit suggest the reckoning is far from over.
The Exit That Wasn’t Supposed to Come Yet
Yoshiki Higashiyama stood before reporters on September 28 for his first public appearance in three years. The former Johnny’s Jr. performer, who had retreated into the shadows to manage victim compensation after the Johnny’s sexual abuse scandal broke, announced he was stepping down as president of SMILE-UP. — the successor company created specifically to handle the fallout from decades of institutional abuse.
But his resignation came with a twist: the replacement isn’t another entertainment industry veteran. It’s a lawyer, Masayuki Yamada. The question nobody asked at the press conference: why a legal expert now?
The Numbers Behind the Headlines
Let’s look at what Higashiyama actually disclosed. Since taking over in 2023, SMILE-UP. has received claims from 1,047 people alleging abuse by founder Johnny Kitagawa and his network. Of those, compensation has been finalized for 578 — roughly 55 percent.
Higashiyama personally met with 127 victims. Sessions lasted anywhere from 15 minutes to two and a half hours. He described most as “looking forward” at the end of their meetings, calling it “hope” for him personally.
That last part matters. In Japanese corporate culture, a president doesn’t typically describe personal emotional takeaways in press conferences. The fact that he did — describing victims’ expressions as giving him hope — suggests either genuine reflection or calculated messaging. Given the upcoming US proceedings, expect lawyers on both sides to argue the latter.
The Staff Abuse Problem Nobody Addressed
Perhaps the most significant disclosure came in Q&A format. When asked about two SMILE-UP. staff members who were found to have committed sexual abuse during the compensation period, Higashiyama offered a response that was surprisingly direct for someone who had spent three years avoiding the spotlight: “I think they should face their own responsibility and atone for their crimes.”
Compensation for those victims is being advanced by the company. But here’s what wasn’t addressed: the structural question of how a company tasked with managing abuse claims could simultaneously harbor abusers within its own ranks.
Two staff members. Three years of operation. And the implication is inescapable — the institutional failures that enabled Kitagawa’s crimes weren’t fully contained when SMILE-UP. was created.
The Legal Architecture Behind the Change
Enter Masayuki Yamada. A lawyer by training, not entertainment. His appointment signals that SMILE-UP. is preparing for something specific: litigation.
Mamoru Nishiyama, an associate professor at Bunkyo Gakuin University specializing in corporate risk management, didn’t mince words. “This feels like an attempt to close the chapter,” he said. “Higashiyama stepping down makes symbolic sense. But Julie Fujishima and the appropriate people from the old Johnny’s need to face the victims directly.”
The word “幕引き” (makubiki) — closing the curtain — is the key. In Japanese corporate governance, this phrase often implies managing downward visibility rather than addressing root causes. The professor’s concern is that the organization is prioritizing narrative control over substantive accountability.
The US Dimension: Why This Matters Beyond Japan
Here’s what English-language readers typically miss: SMILE-UP. isn’t just a Japanese company handling Japanese victims. Johnny’s Entertainment operated as a cultural exporter for decades. Many of the accused victims performed internationally. Some may have US connections.
Under US law, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the Torture Victim Protection Act create potential avenues for victims to pursue claims in American courts, even for conduct that occurred entirely in Japan. The key threshold question would be whether Johnny’s (or its successor entities) conducted sufficient business in the United States to establish jurisdiction — and the evidence suggests they did. Johnny’s artists toured extensively in the US. Talent was scouted and managed through American contacts.
A lawsuit filed in a US federal court would trigger discovery proceedings that could compel document production from SMILE-UP. itself. That changes everything about how compensation cases proceed. Instead of private negotiations in Tokyo, victims would have access to financial records, internal communications, and testimony under oath.
Who Wins, Who Loses
The winners: Currently, nobody in the traditional sense. The system that enabled abuse still exists in modified form. Julie Fujishima remains. The legal apparatus has been enhanced, but the core institutional architecture is intact.
The losers: The 469 victims who haven’t received compensation yet. The two staff members who abused during SMILE-UP.’s operation. And any victim who believed that Higashiyama’s three-year retreat signaled genuine institutional transformation.
The uncertain: Higashiyama himself. He said he hasn’t decided what he’ll do next. That’s either transparency or evasion. Given the pending US proceedings, expect his legal team to define this moment aggressively.
What Happens Next
Three timelines matter:
October 2026: Yamada takes over as president. The compensation process continues. Any US filings made before the leadership change will proceed under the current legal framework.
Spring 2027: If US litigation begins, discovery responses from SMILE-UP. will become public. This is when the real reckoning starts — or when the curtain closes definitively.
Indefinite: The 469 unresolved claims. Without a statutory limitations framework specific to systemic sexual abuse (Japan lacks one), those victims remain in legal limbo regardless of who runs SMILE-UP.
The resignation isn’t an ending. It’s a transition to a phase where lawyers, not former idols, make the decisions. That should tell everyone watching exactly where this is headed.
The Bigger Picture
Japan’s entertainment industry has spent three years performing accountability. The question now is whether that performance was ever meant to be real — or whether Higashiyama’s departure marks the moment it becomes procedural instead.
The victims deserve better than both.