Interviews with abuse survivors and policymakers reveal barriers to safeguarding children in Japan’s entertainment industries

Congratulations to Dr Dorothy Finan on the publication of her latest article. Content Warning: This news item and article contains discussions of child sexual abuse.

Dr. Dorothy Finan from the School of Performance and Cultural Industries and co-author Professor Kaori Suetomi from Nihon University in Tokyo have published an open-access article in the journal Asia Pacific Journal: Japan Focus revealing four key barriers to safeguarding children and young people in Japan’s entertainment industries.

The research was prompted by revelations of child sexual abuse perpetrated by the late Japanese music industry figure Johnny Kitagawa, and by the Japanese government’s subsequent interest in the UK’s DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) system. Dr. Finan and Professor Suetomi conducted interviews with survivors of Kitagawa’s abuse and policymakers (some based within Japan’s national legislature, pictured here) to consider what is preventing greater oversight of how Japan’s entertainment industries protect their child performers.

The article argues that there are four key barriers to overcome in improving the safeguarding of children and young people in Japan’s entertainment industries: precarious work, a reluctance to regulate, a lack of industry accountability, and a lack of societal awareness of child sexual abuse and its impacts.

The article was based on fieldwork conducted in Tokyo in the summer of 2024, supported by a grant from the Faculty’s International Academic Mobility Fund. It is part of an ongoing collaborative project that seeks to map and improve global child performer safeguarding and licensing systems. It is hoped that the findings will contribute to the effective application of Japan’s own DBS system to the entertainment industries once that system comes into effect in 2026.

Access the article by clicking here.