Noriyuki Higashiyama (東山紀之), president of SMILE-UP., formerly Johnny & Associates, has announced that he will leave office at the end of his term. Fujishima will remain in office, and attorney Masayuki Yamada (山田将之) will become the new president. Compensation work will continue, alongside the lawsuits.
Noriyuki Higashiyama (東山紀之), president of former SMILE-UP. (formerly Johnny & Associates), announced that he will leave his position as representative director and president effective 30 September, at the end of his term following the press conference on 28 September. Attorney Masayuki Yamada (山田将之), the company’s chief compliance officer, will become representative director and president effective 1 October, while Julie Keiko Fujishima (藤島ジュリー景子) will remain as a representative director.
The company also discussed progress on compensation. Of the 1,047 people who filed claims with the Victim Relief Committee, 587 have been notified of the specific compensation terms, and payments have been completed for the 578 people who reached an agreement. It was also disclosed that 231 people had been formally informed that they would not receive compensation because, among other reasons, their employment by the agency or the facts of sexual abuse could not be objectively confirmed.
A total of 9 lawsuits seeking damages and other relief are currently pending against the company, with litigation to establish legal liability proceeding in parallel. Higashiyama (東山) indicated that future compensation work would shift primarily to matters requiring legal procedures and expert judgment, and expressed his intention to entrust the top position to Yamada (山田) to strengthen the company’s ability to respond to protracted litigation.