Johnny Kitagawa’s legendary male-only talent agency trained young boys to become superstars. But for over 50 years, Japan has kept Kitagawa’s dark secret – a long history of allegations of sexual abuse, made by boys in his agency. Even after the music mogul’s death in 2019, the Japanese media remained largely silent. Why? Journalist Mobeen Azhar explores the suffocating reality of being a J-pop idol and the influence that Kitagawa had on the media, and exposes the brutal consequences of turning a blind eye.

• BBC
• Johnny Kitagawa
• Mobeen Azhar