Johnny & Associates

Johnny & Associates
Native name
 株式会社ジャニーズ事務所
Public
Industry Entertainment
Founded June 1962 (1962-06)
Founder Johnny Kitagawa
Headquarters 8-11-20
Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo 107-0052, Japan
Products Entertainment
Services Entertainment
Subsidiaries Johnny's Entertainment
J Storm
J-One Records
Website www.johnnys-net.jp

Johnny & Associates (株式会社ジャニーズ事務所, Kabushiki-gaisha Janīzu Jimusho) is a Japanese talent agency, formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1962, which trains and promotes groups of male entertainers known as Johnnies (ジャニーズ, Janīzu)[1][2] In 1999 the company sued Bungeishunjū, publisher of Shukan Bunshun, which published articles alleging that sexual abuse and coercion to use drugs (alcohol and tobacco) had occurred at the agency. A lower court initially ruled in favor of the agency, awarding ¥8.8 million in damages, but the award was reduced on appeal; the higher court ruled that sexual abuse had occurred, although the reports of drinking and smoking were defamatory.[3]

History

1962–1989

Modern, two-story white building
Johnny & Associates building

In 1962, Kitagawa launched his first group, Johnnys.[2] Six years later, Four Leaves (a boy band created by the agency) became successful.[2] Since then Kitagawa has formed a number of successful acts, such as solo artist Masahiko Kondo (whose song, "Orokamono" (愚か者, Fool), won the 1987 Japan Record Award)[4] and Hikaru Genji, the first Johnny group with three singles on the Japanese Oricon yearly chart in 1988.[5]

1990–2009

During the 1990s Johnny & Associates began declining nominations from the Japan Record Awards and the Japan Academy Awards, partly due to a dispute about the musical genre of one of their groups at the 32nd Japan Record Awards.[6] Another reason cited was that the nominations would engender competition among Johnny groups[6] and with other nominees.[7]

SMAP debuted in 1991, hosting television and radio shows, appearing in commercials and acting on television and film.[8] The group's 2003 single, "Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana" (世界に一つだけの花, "A Flower Unlike Any Other in the World"), sold over 2.57 million copies and became the ninth-bestselling single in Japan.[9] In 1997 the agency founded a record label, Johnny's Entertainment.[1]

Two years later, the Japanese weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun published a series of articles alleging that adolescent male agency clients had been sexually abused and coerced into drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco. Johnny & Associates sued the magazine's publisher, Bungeishunjū. In 2002 the Tokyo District Court awarded the agency ¥8.8 million in damages, and Bungeishunjū appealed the ruling to the Tokyo High Court. The court reduced the damages to ¥1.2 million, ruling that the allegations of sexual exploitation were true but the reports of drinking and smoking were defamatory.[3]

In 2006, Oricon sued journalist Hiro Ugaya when he was quoted in a Cyzo magazine article suggesting that the company manipulated its statistics to benefit certain management companies and labels (specifically, Johnny & Associates. Ugaya condemned the action as a strategic lawsuit against public participation,[10] and it was later dropped by Oricon with no charges filed against the journalist.

In 2007, temporary Johnny's Jr. group, Hey! Say! 7, broke a record as the youngest male group to ever top Oricon charts, with an average age of 14.8 years. Later that year, Hey! Say! JUMP broke a record as the largest group to debut in Johnny's history, with ten members.

2010–present

On November 19, 2010, Masahiko Kondo received the Best Vocal Performance award at the 52nd Japan Record Awards; Kondo was the first Johnny recipient since Ninja refused to perform live at the 1990 awards.[11] After the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami Johnny & Associates cancelled or postponed 18 concerts, including shows by Tomohisa Yamashita and Tackey & Tsubasa. Generators, trucks and 2,000 litres (530 US gal) of gasoline which would have been used at the concerts were donated to the relief effort.

The agency began a fundraising project, Marching J, for the Tōhoku earthquake victims; its first event was held on April 1–3, 2011. Hey! Say! JUMP, SMAP, Tokio, KinKi Kids, V6, Arashi, Tackey and Tsubasa, NEWS, Kanjani8, KAT-TUN and Johnny’s Juniors participated in the fundraiser, which included talk sessions and a cappella performances.[12] The agency planned to hold one fundraiser per month for a year. The next event, a baseball tournament featuring Johnny’s Juniors, was held on May 29.[13]

On September 18, 2011, Kitagawa received Guinness World Record awards for the most number-one singles (232) and the most concerts (8,419 from 1974 to 2010) produced by an individual. His shows have been attended by an estimated 48,234,550 people.[14]

Current artists

Recording artists

Debut Artists Members Leader
1979 Masahiko Kondo Solo - -
1985 Shōnentai 3 Kazukiyo Nishikiori -
1994 TOKIO 5 Shigeru Joshima -
1995 V6 6 Masayuki Sakamoto 20th Century and Coming Century are sub-units of the group
1997 KinKi Kids 2 - -
1999 Arashi 5 Satoshi Ohno -
2002 Tackey & Tsubasa 2 - -
2003 NEWS 9 ® 8 ® 7 ® 6 ® 4 Keiichiro Koyama Tegomass is a sub-unit of the group
2004 Kanjani8 8 ® 7 -
2006 KAT-TUN 6 ® 5 ® 4 ® 3 -
2006 Yamashita Tomohisa Solo - Was originally the leader of NEWS. He left the group to become a solo artist in 2011.
2007 Hey! Say! JUMP 10 ® 9 Kota Yabu Hey! Say! BEST and Hey! Say! 7 are sub-units of the group; Largest group to debut
2011 Kis-My-Ft2 7 Hiromitsu Kitayama -
2011 Sexy Zone 5 Kento Nakajima Youngest group to debut (average age of 14.6 at the time).
2012 A.B.C-Z 5 - -
2014 Yuma Nakayama Solo - - NYC member but debuted solo single last 2012, and was announce solo this 2014 before the release of his second single.
2014 Johnny's West 7 - -

Solo artists

Former recording artists

Trainees

Johnny & Associates trainees are known as Johnny's Jr.. Juniors perform their songs and those by established artists on variety shows, such as The Shōnen Club, and are backup dancers for the agency's established groups.

Other releases

Former recording artists

Debut Artists Members Leader Disbanded
1962 Johnnys 4 Hiromi Maie 1967
1967 Four Leaves 5 - 1978
1973 Go Hiromi Solo - left the agency
1975 Little Gang 2 - 1976
1980 Toshihiko Tahara[15] Solo - left the agency
1981 Shibugakitai[fn 1] 3 Hirohide Yakumaru 1988
1983 The Good-Bye[fn 2] ? - already disbanded
1987 Hikaru Genji 7 Mikio Oosawa 1994 became Hikaru Genji Super 5
1987 Otokogumi[fn 3] 4 - 1993
1990 Ninja[fn 4] ? - already disbanded
1991 SMAP

[fn 5]

 6 Masahiro Nakai 2016
2013 Koki Tanaka Solo - left KAT-TUN after contract was terminated[16]
2014 Jin Akanishi Solo - left KAT-TUN IN 2010 and the agency 4 years later after contract had ended[17]
2016 Junnosuke Taguchi Solo - left KAT-TUN and the agency after contract had ended[18]

Temporary / special units

Debut Artists Members Members listed Reason
1975 Johnny's Junior Special ? - -
1998 J-Friends 13 Tokio, V6, KinKi Kids charity group
2000 Secret Agent 2 Noriyuki Higashiyama, Ryo Nishikido Theme song for the drama Heisei Meoto Jawan
2000 Shingo Mama Solo Shingo Katori -
2001 Sakuraba Yuichiro Solo Tomoya Nagase Theme song for the drama Mukodono!
2001 MiMyCen 3 Go Morita, Ken Miyake, Junichi Okada for the variety show MiMyCen!
2001 Go Tarimo and Mini Curry Solo Go Morita for the variety show Gakkou e Iko!
2002 Ya-Ya-yah 5 Kota Yabu, Hikaru Yaotome, Naoya Akama, Shoon Yamashita, Taiyo Ayukawa, Masaki Hoshino Theme song for the anime Nintama Rantarō
2004 Hattori-kun Solo Shingo Katori Theme song for the movie Nin x Nin: Ninja Hattori-kun
2005 Toraji Haiji 2 Tsuyoshi Domoto, Taichi Kokubun Theme song for the movie Fantastipo
2005 Shūji to Akira 2 Kazuya Kamenashi, Tomohisa Yamashita Theme song for the drama Nobuta wo Produce
2006 GYM 3 Golf, Tomohisa Yamashita, Mike Women Volleyball Supporter
2006 Kisarazu Cats Eye feat. MCU 6 Junichi Okada, Sho Sakurai, Yoshinori Okada[fn 6], Tsukamoto Takashi[fn 7], Ryuta Sato[fn 8] Theme song for the drama Kisarazu Cat's Eye: World Series
2007 Trio the Shakiiin 3 Noriyuki Higashiyama, Go Morita, Kenta Suga[fn 9] Theme song for the drama Kuitan
2007 Hey! Say! 7 5 Yuya Takaki, Daiki Arioka, Ryosuke Yamada, Yuto Nakajima, Yuri Chinen Theme song for the anime Lovely Complex
2008 Matchy with Question 6 Masahiko Kondo, Daijiro Yonemura, Yoshihiro Yodogawa, Kazuyori Fujiie, Akun Igo, Daisuke Ishigaki Theme song for the anime Naruto
2009 The Shigotonin 3 Noriyuki Higashiyama, Masahiro Matsuoka, Tadayoshi Okura Theme song for the drama Hissatsu Shigotonin
2009 NYC boys 7 Ryosuke Yamada, Yuri Chinen, Yuma Nakayama, Kento Nakajima, Fuma Kikuchi, Hokuto Matsumura, Yugo Kochi Women Volleyball Supporter
2009 Ryo-san Solo Shingo Katori Theme song for the drama Kochikame
2009 Snow Prince Gasshodan 11 Shintarō Morimoto, Shintarō Kishimoto, Reia Nakamura, Kei Kurita, Yūya Ōtsuka, Tatsuya Horinouchi, Aoi Okada, Yūki Haba, Ryō Hashimoto, Mizuki Inoue, Aoi Chino Theme song for the movie Snow Prince Kinjirareta Koi no Melody (Snow Prince Melody of Forbidden Love)
2009 Lands 2 Jin Akanishi, Takeshi Kobayashi[fn 10] Theme song for the movie Bandage
2010 Kaibutsu-kun Solo Satoshi Ohno Theme song for the drama Kaibutsu-kun
2011 Ryo-san Solo Shingo Katori Theme song for the movie Kochikame
2011 A.N. Jell 4 Hikaru Yaotome, Taisuke Fujigaya, Yuta Tamamori, Miori Takimoto[fn 11] Theme song for the drama Ikemen desu ne
2012 The Monsters 2 Shingo Katori, Tomohisa Yamashita Theme song for the drama Monsters
2014 Hottake Band 2 Kazuya Kamenashi, Tamaki Koji Theme song for the drama Tokyo Bandwagon
2015-2016 Sensations 9 Hey! Say! JUMP Theme song for the movies Assassination Classroom and Assassination Classroom: Graduation

Former artists

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Members: Toshikazu Fukawa, Masahiro Motoki, Hirohide Yakumaru
  2. ↑ Members: Yoshio Nomura, Yashisa Soga, Hachirou Kaga, Kouichi Etō
  3. ↑ Members: Shōji Narita, Kazuya Takahashi, Kenichi Okamoto, Koyo Maeda
  4. ↑ Members: Susumu Yanagisawa, Naoto Endō, Shinya Masaki, Nobuhide Tagaki
  5. ↑ Members:Masahiro Nakai,Takuya Kimura,Goro Inagaki,Tsuyoshi Kusanagi,Shingo Katori,Katsuyuki Mori
  6. ↑ A non-Johnny's artist
  7. ↑ A non-Johnny's artist
  8. ↑ A non-Johnny's artist
  9. ↑ A non-Johnny's artist
  10. ↑ A non-Johnny's artist
  11. ↑ A non-Johnny's artist

References

  1. 1 2 "Johnny & Associates, Inc.". JaME World. 2009-06-03. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
  2. 1 2 3 Campion, Chris (2005-08-21). "J-Pop's dream factory". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  3. 1 2 Fukue, Natsuko, "So, you wanna be a Johnny?", Japan Times, 14 April 2009, p. 3.
  4. ↑ "List of Winners from 1959–2007" (in Japanese). Japan Record Award. Archived from the original on 2010-02-19. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
  5. ↑ "嵐、史上初の"CD、DVD4 冠"達成～シングルTOP3独占は光GENJI以来21年ぶり" (in Japanese). Oricon. 2009-12-18. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
  6. 1 2 キムタクが日本アカデミー賞辞退 (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 2006-12-20. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  7. ↑ "Kimutaku Declines Academy Nomination". Japan Zone. 2006-12-20. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
  8. ↑ "Johnny's Jimusho". Japan Zone. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
  9. ↑ 「およげ！たいやきくん」がギネス認定、再評価の気運高まる (in Japanese). Oricon. 2008-02-20. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
  10. ↑ Libel suit attacks free speech: defendant The Japan Times Online
  11. ↑ レコ大20年ぶりジャニーズ 転機となるか. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). Oricon. 2010-11-20. Retrieved 2010-11-20.
  12. ↑ "Asia Pacific Arts: Johnny's Entertainment fundraiser "Marching J" attracts 389,000". Asiapacificarts.usc.edu. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
  13. ↑ "Johnny’s Company "Marching J" Project". Tokyofever. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
  14. ↑ "Johnny Kitagawa has been presented with two Guinness World Records". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  15. ↑ Toshihiko Tahara - Aisyu Date (1980)
  16. ↑ Archived October 17, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  17. ↑ Archived March 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
  18. ↑ "[BREAKING] KAT-TUN's Taguchi Junnosuke to leave the group & Johnny's | tokyohive.com". www.tokyohive.com. Retrieved 2017-01-02.
  19. ↑ "Jo Toyokawa and Ippei Hikaru" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2010-06-09.
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