A team of outside experts probing sexual abuse allegations at Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates has released a report urging the company's president to step down.

Several men who used to belong to the agency as boys have accused its founder and former president Johnny Kitagawa of sexual misconduct. Kitagawa died in 2019.

In May, the agency set up a team of outside experts on law, sexual abuse and mental health.

The team announced at a news conference on Tuesday that it submitted its report to the agency.

The team interviewed 23 victims, including former backup dancers known as Johnny's Juniors, who were mostly teenagers waiting to make their debuts.

It says it confirmed that Kitagawa began sexually abusing boys in the 1950s, and repeatedly assaulted a number of Johnny's Juniors from the early 1970s through the mid-2010s.

The team attributes the problem to Kitagawa's sexual deviance, his older sister's failure to take action despite knowing of his behavior toward boys, and her efforts to cover it up. She effectively took care of managing the agency.

The company's current president is her daughter, Julie K. Fujishima. The experts point out negative aspects of the family-run business, and suggest that she resign.

To prevent a recurrence, the team urges the agency to admit abuses by Kitagawa, apologize sincerely to the victims and quickly begin talks with them.

It also suggests the agency immediately set up a program to compensate the victims.