CNN —The head of Japan’s top pop agency Johnny & Associates stepped down Thursday after admitting that her uncle, the company’s late founder, had sexually abused minors for years, following months of international scrutiny and an independent investigation. Julie K Fujishima, the niece of Johnny Kitagawa, announced her resignation in a news conference Thursday, saying the company would compensate the victims of her uncle’s abuse, according to public broadcaster NHK. It was the first time the agency has addressed the media about the scandal, according to NHK. He alleged that over the course of four years, beginning in 2012 when he was 15, he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Kitagawa. In 1999, a Japanese magazine published accounts of other young men and boys who claimed they were sexually abused by Kitagawa.

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Persons: Julie K Fujishima, Johnny Kitagawa, Kitagawa, Noriyuki Higashiyama, Higashiyama, “, Jae, Mary Kitagawa, Fujishima, Kauan Okamoto Organizations: CNN, Johnny, NHK, BBC, Johnny & Associates, Associates Locations: Tokyo