Wednesday 10 May 2023
12:00pm – 1:30pm

Film Screening & Discussion - Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop

This event will start at 12pm BST (online)

Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

Booking closed

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.

This screening (60 min) was accompanied by a Q&A session with Mobeen Azhar and Megumi Inman (30 min) chaired by Jason James.

The event was made possible through the generous support of the BBC press team.

WRITTEN SUMMARY: MOBEEN AZHAR & MEGUMI INMAN

A recording of the discussion and Q&A can be viewed here:

About the contributors

Mobeen Azhar

Mobeen Azhar is an award-winning Journalist and Film Maker. He makes access-based documentaries across television and radio. His specialist areas include sex work, addiction, terrorism and Prince. Mobeen received a BAFTA award for his BBC 2 series ‘Muslims Like Us’. He won an Amnesty International Award for ‘Panorama: The Secret Drone War’ and was nominated for a Foreign Press Association Award for ‘Inside Gay Pakistan’. His book Prince: Stories from the Purple Underground is an international best seller.

Megumi Inman

Megumi Inman is a Japanese-British director/producer working with documentary and cinematic formats. She has worked with a range of broadcasters around the world including BBC, Nat Geo, Sky Arts and NHK. Past work includes feature documentary ‘Sweepstakes Hero’, ‘The Organic Terrorist’, ‘Inside North Korea’s Dynasty’ for Nat Geo and ‘Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-pop’ for BBC.