Rumors concerning Kitagawa and possible sexual harassment of the youth in his employ had surrounded the agency since 1988, when , a former member of Four Leaves, published a series of diaries under the title . Kita claimed that Kitagawa had used his position of influence over the group to make unwanted sexual advances towards the boys under contract to him. Similar allegations were made in a book published in 1996 by Junya Hiramoto, a former member of another of Kitagawa's bands. Hiramoto alleged that he had seen Kitagawa force a boy to have sex with him in one of the talent agency's dormitories, yet did nothing to stop it.