TOKYO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The niece of Johnny Kitagawa, the late J-pop magnate at the centre of a sexual abuse scandal that has shocked Japan, said on Thursday that she had stepped down as the head of the talent agency her uncle had founded. As more Japanese media took up the story, lawmakers voiced outrage, while the United Nations' human rights experts also criticised the talent agency for its handling of the allegations. At a press conference televised live by most broadcasters, Kitagawa's niece Julie K. Fujishima said she had stepped down as president on Tuesday. Noriyuki Higashiyama, a former member of the popular 1980s boy-band Shonentai, was the new head of the agency, Fujishima said. But the scandal blew up this year as more victims came forward after the BBC's report, leading to demands for stricter laws to prevent child abuse and a formal apology from the agency.

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Persons: Johnny Kitagawa, Kitagawa, Kitagawa's, Julie K, Fujishima, Noriyuki, Higashiyama, Francis Tang, Kantaro Komiya, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Chang, Ran Kim, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: BBC, United Nations, Johnny, Associates, Johnny's Juniors, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Japan, East Asia