Johnny and Associates
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

is a Japanese
talent agency Talent has two principal meanings: * Talent (measurement), an ancient unit of mass and value * Talent (skill), a group of aptitudes useful for some activities; talents may refer to aptitudes themselves or to possessors of those talents Talent may ...
, formed by
Johnny Kitagawa John Hiromu Kitagawa (Japanese name ; October 23, 1931 – July 9, 2019), known professionally as , was an American-born Japanese businessman and talent manager. He was the founder and president of Johnny & Associates, a production agency for nu ...
in 1962, which trains and promotes groups of male
entertainers Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousand ...
known as .


History


1962–1989

In 1962, Kitagawa launched his first group, Johnnys. In its early days, Kitagawa's agency rented an office space owned by
Watanabe Productions is a multimedia management company in Japan dealing in recordings, films, television, music publishing and artist management as well as the main subsidiary of the Watanabe Production Group. Formed by bandleader Shin Watanabe and his wife Misa ...
, operating under its management as well. Six years later, Four Leaves, a boy band created by the agency, became successful. Four Leaves left a lasting legacy to the industry because it was produced as a "
Group sounds , often abbreviated as GS, is a genre of Japanese rock music which became popular in the mid to late 1960s and initiated the fusion of Japanese '' kayōkyoku'' music and Western rock music. Their music production techniques were regarded as playi ...
band that does not play instruments", a product of Kitagawa's taste for emphasizing the attributes, personality and physical abilities of a performer. Since then Kitagawa has formed a number of successful acts, such as solo artist
Masahiko Kondō or Matchy is a Japanese singer, lyricist, actor, racing car manager and former semi-professional racing driver. He was a member of the Tanokin Trio. Kondō is also a semi-professional racing driver and a racing team owner. He founded the racing ...
, whose song, , won the 1987
Japan Record Award is a major music awards show, held annually in Japan that recognizes outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association. Until 2005, the show aired on New Year's Eve, but has since aired every December 30 on TBS Japan at 6:30 P.M JST a ...
, and
Hikaru Genji is the protagonist of Murasaki Shikibu's important Heian-era Japanese novel '' The Tale of Genji''. The story describes him as a superbly handsome man and a genius. Genji is the second son of a Japanese emperor, but he is relegated to civi ...
, the first Johnny group with three singles on the Japanese
Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in ...
yearly chart in 1988. Johnny & Associates played an integral role in the post-war growth of Japanese boy bands and the idol industry. While there were idols since the 1970s who were able to sing and dance at the same time, the agency popularized the idea of performance-oriented idols in the 1980s. Kitagawa himself was credited with pioneering the idol system where trainees (known as Johnny Jr.) are admitted into the agency at a young age to train in singing, dancing, and acting until their debut.


1990–2009

Around the 1990s, Johnny & Associates' marketing strategy changed to include variety show hosting as a specialty in their talents. At the time, the agency focused on marketing the singing and dancing talents of their acts until they would retire around age 25 as they aged out of the industry. Taking note of former Shibugakitai member Hirohide Yakumaru's success as an MC on ''Hanamaru'', Johnny & Associates subsequently trained their more recent groups to have public personas as well. 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. Another reason cited was that the nominations would engender competition among Johnny groups and with other nominees. In 1997 the agency founded a record label, Johnny's Entertainment. Also, a New Year's Eve countdown concert is held live on
Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...
from the
Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of th ...
since 1996 known as ''Johnny's Countdown Live'' with a different theme each year. In 2006,
Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in ...
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, 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 Hey! Say! JUMP (HSJ or JUMP) is an eight-member Japanese boy band under the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates. The group is split into two sub-groups: Hey! Say! BEST and Hey! Say! 7. In Japan they sold more than 10 million physical co ...
broke a record as the largest group to debut in Johnny's history, with ten members. By 2008, Johnny & Associates was known as the "top 3" recording artist companies.


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. 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. In 2018, Johnny & Associates, especially Kitagawa, who had been previously known for strictly controlling access to their acts, established a
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
channel for their trainee groups, Johnny's Jr. In January 2019,
Hideaki Takizawa , also known professionally as , is a Japanese record producer and former singer and actor. In 2002, he debuted with Tsubasa Imai in the group Tackey & Tsubasa under the record label Avex Trax. In 2018, Takizawa retired from entertainment and ...
was named the president of a new subdivision of the company called Johnny's Island, where he would manage and oversee the debut of trainee group Snow Man. After Kitagawa's death on July 9, 2019, his niece, Julie Keiko Fujishima was made the new president of the agency, while Takizawa and Suguru Shirahase became the vice presidents and Kitagawa's older sister, Mary Yasuko Fujishima, became the executive director. After that, Johnny & Associates not only made the discography for some of their talent, that included collaborations with other artists, available on streaming platforms, and opened social network sites for them, but also opened for itself an official Twitter in English in 2021.


Charity activities

In 1998, Johnny's groups
KinKi Kids is a Japanese duo consisting of Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto under the talent agency Johnny & Associates. KinKi Kids was formed in 1993 and officially debuted on July 21, 1997. With more than 30 million physical copies sold, they are one of ...
, V6 and Tokio, formed a special charity-oriented group called
J-Friends J-FRIENDS was a special unit made up of Johnny & Associates groups TOKIO, V6, and KinKi Kids. It was formed in 1997 to raise money for schools affected by the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995. Until their disbandment in 2003 they were able to rel ...
, to raise funds for the 1995 Hanshin and Awaji earthquake victims. The group continued with several activities, until their disbandment in 2003. The agency continued its fundraising project, now with Marching J, for the Tōhoku earthquake victims in 2011. Its first event was held on April 1–3.
Hey! Say! JUMP Hey! Say! JUMP (HSJ or JUMP) is an eight-member Japanese boy band under the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates. The group is split into two sub-groups: Hey! Say! BEST and Hey! Say! 7. In Japan they sold more than 10 million physical co ...
,
SMAP SMAP was a Japanese boy band, composed of Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori. The group was created in 1988 by music producer Johnny Kitagawa, founder of Johnny & Associates, originally as a six- ...
, Tokio,
KinKi Kids is a Japanese duo consisting of Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto under the talent agency Johnny & Associates. KinKi Kids was formed in 1993 and officially debuted on July 21, 1997. With more than 30 million physical copies sold, they are one of ...
, V6,
Arashi is a Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. Arashi officially formed on September 15, ...
,
Tackey and Tsubasa were a Japanese idol Duet (music), duo consisting of Hideaki Takizawa and Tsubasa Imai from the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates. Takizawa, nicknamed "Tackey" (sometimes spelled as its literal romanization, ), is best known for his Japan ...
,
NEWS News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. N ...
,
Kanjani8 is a five-member Japanese boy band from Japan's Kansai region. They are managed by the multimedia talent agency Johnny & Associates and signed to Infinity Records. The group was formed in 2002 and made their CD debut in 2004 as "Johnny's modern ...
,
KAT-TUN is a Japanese boy band formed under Johnny & Associates (Johnny's) in 2001. The group's name was originally an acronym based on the first letter of each member's family name: Kazuya Kamenashi, Jin Akanishi, Junnosuke Taguchi, Koki Tanaka, ...
and Johnny's Juniors participated in the fundraiser, which included talk sessions and a cappella performances. The agency planned to hold one fundraiser per month for a year. The next event, a baseball tournament featuring Johnny's Jrs., was held on May 29. After the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six mi ...
, Johnny & Associates cancelled or postponed 18 concerts, including shows by
Tomohisa Yamashita , also widely known as , or Tomo, is a Japanese singer, actor, and TV host. Yamashita joined the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates as a trainee in 1996 (age 11) and made his small acting debut for NHK's ''Shonentachi'' (1998) and has be ...
and Tackey & Tsubasa. Generators, trucks and of gasoline which would have been used at the concerts were donated to the relief effort. Charity activities continued as Johnny's "Smile Up! Project". On May 13, 2020, it was reported that 76 of Johnny's artists from 15 groups, including V6,
Arashi is a Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. Arashi officially formed on September 15, ...
,
News News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. N ...
and others, would be included in the temporary unit "Twenty Twenty", as part of Johnny's charity project with support activity to prevent the spread of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
. This group would sing the song ''"Smile"'', written by Mr. Children's
Kazutoshi Sakurai is a Japanese musician. He composes and writes almost all of the songs for his band Mr. Children, in addition to writing lyrics and singing for his solo project group Bank Band. In 2006, Sakurai ranked No. 8 in HMV's "Top 30 Best Japanese Sing ...
, which was released as a single in digital form on June 22, and on CD on August 12.
Yuya Tegoshi is a Japanese singer, actor, and television personality. He debuted as a member of Japanese boy band NEWS under Johnny & Associates and was also part of its sub-group, Tegomass. Career 2002–2019: NEWS, Tegomass Tegoshi entered Johnny & ...
was taken off the grouping, due to reports of his failing to keep orders to stay at home during the emergency situation in April. Later on, it was revealed that his contract had been terminated, and that he had left the company. Activities continued on the end-of-year period with a new awareness campaign against COVID-19 and the Flu, starting on November 24. "Aitsu", the new project, revolves around a series of movies continuing the health measure awareness used from the beginning of the pandemic, like the correct form of washing hands, the continuous use of a mask, among others. The movies would be distributed around Japan and also be included in the Smile Up! Project's social network accounts.


Views and controversies


Accessibility to talents

The business model of Johnny & Associates has an agency at the center in most areas in which it operates; the company has had its own recording, publishing, producing, filmmaking, merchandising, and advertising arms, a vertical integration that parallels Japanese system, and for most of its history transmitted information directly to fans exclusively through the ''Family Club'', a tightly controlled, membership-based platform on which its artists and their fans can communicate and share information with each other. During the 20th century, the F.C. was largely maintained through
mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sys ...
and
fax Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying or telefax (the latter short for telefacsimile), is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer o ...
. Johnny & Associates exercises strict control over their talents' likeness, to the point where photographs were initially not even posted on the company's official website and silhouettes were used in place of actual imagery on official websites of films and television in which the talent appeared. In addition to this, Johnny & Associates until recently did not use social media, limiting digital contents to paid subscription services like ''Johnny's Web''. In 2011, Johnny & Associates began posting photos of their talents on their official website. On January 31, 2018, Johnny & Associates lifted their photo ban completely and allowed the press to post approved images of their talents more freely. In March of the same year, Johnny & Associates launched a
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
channel for selected Johnny's Jr. groups. Since Kitagawa's death in 2019, Johnny & Associates have expanded accessibility for their talents.


Sexual harassment allegations

In 1988, former Four Leaves member Koji Kita alleged in his book ''Dear Hikaru Genji'' that he had been propositioned by Kitagawa and that Kitagawa operated a casting couch. In 1996, former Johnny Jr.'s member Junya Hiramoto alleged in his book ''All About Johnnys'' that Kitagawa shared the boys' communal dormitory and insisted on washing their backs at bath time. In 2001, ''
Shukan Bunshun A week is a unit of time equal to seven days. It is the standard time period used for short cycles of days in most parts of the world. The days are often used to indicate common work days and rest days, as well as days of worship. Weeks are oft ...
'' ran a series of similar sexual harassment allegations along with claims that Kitagawa had allegedly forced the boys to drink alcohol and smoke. Johnny & Associates sued ''Shukan Bunshun'' for defamation, and in 2002, the
Tokyo District Court is a district court located at 1-1-4 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the ...
ruled in favor of Kitagawa, awarding him in damages. In 2003, the fine was lowered to on the basis that the drinking and smoking allegations were defamatory, while the sexual harassment claims were not. Kitagawa filed an appeal to the
Supreme Court of Japan The , located in Hayabusachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, is the highest court in Japan. It has ultimate judicial authority to interpret the Japanese constitution and decide questions of national law. It has the power of judicial review, which allows it t ...
, but it was rejected in 2004. The case saw minimal coverage in Japan, with many journalists attributing it to Kitagawa's influence on Japanese mass media.


Media blacklisting investigation

For years, Johnny & Associates has been suspected of having connections with the mass media to produce extensive and favorable coverage on the company, its acts, and Kitagawa, while reducing coverage on anything perceived to be a threat to their image and sales. An example noted by journalists mention that Kitagawa would threaten to withdraw his talents from certain music programs and channels if they provide unfavorable coverage or invite competing boy bands from other agencies. On July 18, 2019, Johnny & Associates was investigated by the Fair Trading Commission for potentially violating the Anti-Monopoly Act due to accusations of pressuring the media to reduce coverage on Atarashii Chizu, a group made up of former
SMAP SMAP was a Japanese boy band, composed of Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori. The group was created in 1988 by music producer Johnny Kitagawa, founder of Johnny & Associates, originally as a six- ...
members
Shingo Katori is a Japanese actor, singer, television host, radio personality. He was the youngest member of SMAP, one of the best-selling boy band in Asia. After the group's disbandment on 31 December 2016, Katori has been pursuing his solo career. He left ...
,
Tsuyoshi Kusanagi is a Japanese actor, singer, television host, and a former member of SMAP, one of the best-selling boy bands in Asia. Early life Kusanagi grew up in Kasukabe, Saitama, Japan. Career Music In 1987, at age 13, Kusanagi auditioned to enter Joh ...
, and
Goro Inagaki is a Japanese musician and actor from Itabashi, Tokyo. Inagaki was a member of the Japanese pop group SMAP. A year after the group's dissolution, Inagaki, alongside his former bandmates Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and Shingo Katori formed the group Atar ...
. Despite lack of hard evidence, Johnny & Associates received a warning.


Current artists


Recording artists

;Groups * TOKIO * 20th Century *
KinKi Kids is a Japanese duo consisting of Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto under the talent agency Johnny & Associates. KinKi Kids was formed in 1993 and officially debuted on July 21, 1997. With more than 30 million physical copies sold, they are one of ...
*
Arashi is a Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. Arashi officially formed on September 15, ...
*
NEWS News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. N ...
*
Kanjani Eight is a five-member Japanese boy band from Japan's Kansai region. They are managed by the multimedia talent agency Johnny & Associates and signed to Infinity Records. The group was formed in 2002 and made their CD debut in 2004 as "Johnny's modern ...
*
KAT-TUN is a Japanese boy band formed under Johnny & Associates (Johnny's) in 2001. The group's name was originally an acronym based on the first letter of each member's family name: Kazuya Kamenashi, Jin Akanishi, Junnosuke Taguchi, Koki Tanaka, ...
*
Hey! Say! JUMP Hey! Say! JUMP (HSJ or JUMP) is an eight-member Japanese boy band under the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates. The group is split into two sub-groups: Hey! Say! BEST and Hey! Say! 7. In Japan they sold more than 10 million physical co ...
*
Kis-My-Ft2 is a seven-member Japanese boy band under Johnny & Associates, with members Hiromitsu Kitayama, Kento Senga, Toshiya Miyata, Wataru Yokoo, Taisuke Fujigaya, Yuta Tamamori and Takashi Nikaidō. The group was a former Johnny's Jr. unit which debu ...
* Sexy Zone * A.B.C-Z * Johnny's West *
King & Prince King & Prince is a five-member Japanese idol group under Johnny & Associates that debuted in 2018. The group was originally a Johnny's Jr. unit, ''Mr. King vs Mr. Prince'' that was composed of 2 separate units: Mr. King and Prince. The units lat ...
* SixTones *
Snow Man Snow Man is a Japanese idol boy band formed by Johnny & Associates in 2012. The group was previously a sub-unit of Johnny & Associates' pre-debut trainee group, Johnny's Jr. The group's activities focused on acrobats and stage play. Along with ...
*
Naniwa Danshi is a Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates on October 6, 2018. It consists of seven members who primarily come from the Kansai region. The group's official debut announcement was made on July 28, 2021, through their label J Storm. Thei ...
* Travis Japan ;Sub-units *
Busaiku is a Japanese boy band with four members from Kis-My-Ft2. Their single "" was number-one on the weekly Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly ...
;Soloists *
Takuya Kimura is a Japanese actor, singer, and radio personality. He is regarded as a Japanese icon after achieving success as an actor. He was also a popular member of SMAP, one of the best-selling boy bands in Asia. A 1996 television drama series, ''Long ...
*
Junichi Okada is an actor and a former member of Japanese boy band V6, which was under the management of Johnny & Associates. He joined Johnny & Associates at the age of 14. Music career In the summer of 1995, Okada participated in ''Johnny's Pre-School'' ...
*
Ken Miyake was a six-member Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates. The group debuted on November 1, 1995, with the single "Music for the People", which was used as the image song for the World Cup of Volleyball in 1995. Their first four singles, ...
*
Yuma Nakayama is a Japanese actor and singer. He was born in Osaka, Japan. He was a past member of many Johnny's Jr. groups such as Top Kids and 7 West. He released his debut CD single in 2009 as part of Yuma Nakayama w/B.I.Shadow and NYC Boys. He both perf ...


Actors/Entertainers

;Actors * Noriyuki Higashiyama * *
Takuya Kimura is a Japanese actor, singer, and radio personality. He is regarded as a Japanese icon after achieving success as an actor. He was also a popular member of SMAP, one of the best-selling boy bands in Asia. A 1996 television drama series, ''Long ...
* * * *
Junichi Okada is an actor and a former member of Japanese boy band V6, which was under the management of Johnny & Associates. He joined Johnny & Associates at the age of 14. Music career In the summer of 1995, Okada participated in ''Johnny's Pre-School'' ...
*
Toma Ikuta is a Japanese actor. Ikuta is known for his roles in '' Hanazakari no Kimitachi e'', ''Honey & Clover'', '' Sensei!'', '' Maō'' and '' Ouroboros''. He also stars in feature films, notably ''Hanamizuki'', '' Ningen Shikkaku'' and ''Brain Man'' ...
*
Hiroki Uchi (born September 10, 1986) is a Japanese idol singer, songwriter, actor and model. He was born in Habikino, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Biography Uchi Hiroki auditioned for Johnny & Associates in May 1999, at the age of twelve. He had no interest i ...
*
Shunsuke Kazama is a Japanese actor and television personality affiliated with Johnny & Associates. Biography In 1997, when Kazama was in his second year of junior high school, he entered Johnny & Associates and started activities as a trainee. He made his de ...
* * *
Keito Okamoto is a Japanese singer and actor associated with Johnny & Associates. and former member of Hey! Say! JUMP. Early life Okamoto was born in Tokyo to Kenichi Okamoto, a former member of the rock band Otokogumi, and model Katsue Nishi. He was educa ...
* * * * * * ;Entertainers * ** ** ** ** Yudai Tatsumi


Trainees

Trainees are known as Johnny's Jr. and have traditionally performed on Johnny's related variety shows and as
backup dancer A backup dancer also known as background dancer is a performer who dances with or behind the lead performers in a live musical act or in a music video. Their movements (especially where there are many moving together) improve the visual aesthetic ...
s for the agency's groups. However, in recent years select Junior groups have taken on levels of visibility akin to mainstream senior acts, including national commercial sponsorships, solo concerts, national tours, and starring film and television roles.


Notable trainees

* HiHi Jets ( ja) - formed 2015 * Bi Shonen ( 美 少年) - formed 2016 * 7 Men Samurai - formed 2018 * Shonen Ninja ( 少年忍者) - formed 2018 * Jr. SP ( ja) - formed 2018 * IMPACTors ( ja) - formed 2020 * Go!Go!Kids ( ja)- formed 2022 * Lil Kansai ( Lil かんさい) - formed 2019 * Ae! group ( Aぇ! group) - formed 2019 * Boys be ( ja) - formed 2020 * AmBitious ( ja)- formed 2021


Former artists


Former recording artists

* Johnnys (1962-1967) ** Hiromi Maie (1962–?) ** Osami Iino (1962–1968) ** Ryo Nakatani (1962–?) ** Teruhiko Aoi (1962–1967) * Four Leaves (1968-1976) ** Kōji Kita (1966–1989) **
Takashi Aoyama is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings The name Takashi can have multiple different meanings depending on which kanji is used to write it. Some possible writings of the name include: *江詩 - "estuary , inlet, poem" *隆 - "prosp ...
(1966–1978) ** Toshio Egi (1966–?) ** Masao Orimo (1966–?) ** Eiji Nagata (1966–1977) *
Hiromi Go , is a Japanese singer, part of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. His real name is . In the 1970s, he was called the with Goro Noguchi and Hideki Saijo. He belonged to Johnny & Associates, but later left the agency. He also effectively became ...
(1971–1975) * Teruyoshi Aoi (1973–1976) * Jo Toyokawa (1975–1979) * Little Gang (1975-1976) * Mayo Kawasaki (1976–1989) *
Masahiko Kondō or Matchy is a Japanese singer, lyricist, actor, racing car manager and former semi-professional racing driver. He was a member of the Tanokin Trio. Kondō is also a semi-professional racing driver and a racing team owner. He founded the racing ...
(1977–2021) *
Toshihiko Tahara is a Japanese idol singer, and solo vocalist, affiliated with Johnny & Associates. In the 1980s he had a number of number 1 singles in Japan. He was awarded a Japan Music Award in 1983 for the song . He was part of the Tanokin Trio. Biogra ...
(1979–1994) * Ippei Hikaru (1980–1985) * Shibugakitai (1982-1988) ** Hirohide Yakumaru ** Toshikazu Fukawa **
Masahiro Motoki Masahiro Motoki (本木 雅弘 ''Motoki Masahiro'', born December 21, 1965) is a Japanese actor. He portrayed protagonist Daigo Kobayashi in '' Departures'', which won the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. His performance earne ...
* Shigeyuki Nakamura (1982–1993) * The Good-Bye (1983-1990) *
Hikaru Genji is the protagonist of Murasaki Shikibu's important Heian-era Japanese novel '' The Tale of Genji''. The story describes him as a superbly handsome man and a genius. Genji is the second son of a Japanese emperor, but he is relegated to civi ...
(1987-1995) ** Mikio Ôsawa (1982–1994) ** Kazumi Morohoshi (1984–1994) ** Hiroyuki Satō (1983–1994) ** Junichi Yamamoto (1986–2002) ** Akira Akasaka (1987–2007) *
SMAP SMAP was a Japanese boy band, composed of Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori. The group was created in 1988 by music producer Johnny Kitagawa, founder of Johnny & Associates, originally as a six- ...
(1990-2016) **
Katsuyuki Mori SMAP was a Japanese boy band, composed of Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori. The group was created in 1988 by music producer Johnny Kitagawa, founder of Johnny & Associates, originally as a ...
(1987–1996) **
Goro Inagaki is a Japanese musician and actor from Itabashi, Tokyo. Inagaki was a member of the Japanese pop group SMAP. A year after the group's dissolution, Inagaki, alongside his former bandmates Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and Shingo Katori formed the group Atar ...
(1987–2016) **
Tsuyoshi Kusanagi is a Japanese actor, singer, television host, and a former member of SMAP, one of the best-selling boy bands in Asia. Early life Kusanagi grew up in Kasukabe, Saitama, Japan. Career Music In 1987, at age 13, Kusanagi auditioned to enter Joh ...
(1987–2016) **
Shingo Katori is a Japanese actor, singer, television host, radio personality. He was the youngest member of SMAP, one of the best-selling boy band in Asia. After the group's disbandment on 31 December 2016, Katori has been pursuing his solo career. He left ...
(1988–2016) **
Masahiro Nakai is a Japanese television host, actor, news presenter, radio personality. He was the leader of the now defunct boy band SMAP, which had been the best-selling boy band in Asia. While working as a member of a boy band, he worked extensively as a t ...
(1986-2020) * Otokogumi (1988-1993) ** Shoji Narita ** Kazuya Takahashi ** Koyo Maeda * Ninja (1990-1997) * TOKIO ** Hiromu Kojima (1990–1994) ** Tatsuya Yamaguchi (1989–2018) **
Tomoya Nagase is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, and model. He was a member of Tokio, a Johnny & Associates musical group. He was the primary vocalist, in addition to playing the guitar alongside Tokio's leader, Shigeru Joshima. Career As an artis ...
(1992–2021) * V6 (1995-2021) **
Go Morita was a six-member Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates. The group debuted on November 1, 1995, with the single "Music for the People", which was used as the image song for the World Cup of Volleyball in 1995. Their first four singles, ...
(1995–2021) * Tackey & Tsubasa (2002-2018) **
Tsubasa Imai is a Japanese singer, actor and dancer formerly in the Japanese agency Johnny & Associates. He joined Johnny & Associates in 1995 and officially debuted in 2002 in the duo Tackey & Tsubasa with Hideaki Takizawa. They are signed to the record lab ...
(1995–2018) *
NEWS News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. N ...
**
Hironori Kusano is a Japanese singer and former member of the J-pop group NEWS, as part of Johnny's Entertainment, Inc., which he joined in February 2001. Biography As a Johnny's Jr., Kusano had also been in other Jr. subgroups including J2000, J-support, a ...
(2001–2008) ** Takahiro Moriuchi (2001–2003) **
Yuya Tegoshi is a Japanese singer, actor, and television personality. He debuted as a member of Japanese boy band NEWS under Johnny & Associates and was also part of its sub-group, Tegomass. Career 2002–2019: NEWS, Tegomass Tegoshi entered Johnny & ...
(2003-2020) **
Tomohisa Yamashita , also widely known as , or Tomo, is a Japanese singer, actor, and TV host. Yamashita joined the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates as a trainee in 1996 (age 11) and made his small acting debut for NHK's ''Shonentachi'' (1998) and has be ...
(1996-2020) *
KAT-TUN is a Japanese boy band formed under Johnny & Associates (Johnny's) in 2001. The group's name was originally an acronym based on the first letter of each member's family name: Kazuya Kamenashi, Jin Akanishi, Junnosuke Taguchi, Koki Tanaka, ...
** Koki Tanaka (1998–2013) **
Jin Akanishi is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter and actor. He has been active since 1998 as one of the two lead vocalists of the J-pop boy-band KAT-TUN before starting a solo career in 2009. Akanishi has also acted in several films and dramas. Biog ...
(1998–2014) **
Junnosuke Taguchi in Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan), is a singer-songwriter, actor, and model. He is a former member of the Japanese idol group KAT-TUN. He joined the talent agency Johnny & Associates in 1999 and officially debuted as part of KAT-TUN in 2006. Ap ...
(1999–2016) *
Hey! Say! JUMP Hey! Say! JUMP (HSJ or JUMP) is an eight-member Japanese boy band under the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates. The group is split into two sub-groups: Hey! Say! BEST and Hey! Say! 7. In Japan they sold more than 10 million physical co ...
**
Ryutaro Morimoto Hey! Say! JUMP (HSJ or JUMP) is an eight-member Japanese boy band under the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates. The group is split into two sub-groups: Hey! Say! BEST and Hey! Say! 7. In Japan they sold more than 10 million physical co ...
(2004–2011) *
Kanjani Eight is a five-member Japanese boy band from Japan's Kansai region. They are managed by the multimedia talent agency Johnny & Associates and signed to Infinity Records. The group was formed in 2002 and made their CD debut in 2004 as "Johnny's modern ...
** Ryo Nishikido (2004-2019) **
Subaru Shibutani is a Japanese singer, actor and lyricist. He was also the main vocalist of Japanese male idol group Kanjani Eight, which debuted with modern enka, before he left the group in 2018. His first solo album ''Nisai'' was released in October 2019. S ...
(2004-2018) * Tegomass (2006-2020) ;Project groups * Johnny's Junior Special (1975) * Tanokin Trio (1980-1983) *
J-Friends J-FRIENDS was a special unit made up of Johnny & Associates groups TOKIO, V6, and KinKi Kids. It was formed in 1997 to raise money for schools affected by the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995. Until their disbandment in 2003 they were able to rel ...
(1998) * Secret Agent (2000) * MiMyCen (2001) * Ya-Ya-yah (2002) * Toraji Haiji (2005) *
Shūji to Akira was a special temporary unit formed by KAT-TUN member Kazuya Kamenashi and NEWS member Tomohisa Yamashita for their 2005 drama '' Nobuta o Produce''. and are the names of the characters Kamenashi and Yamashita play in the drama respectively. A ...
(2005) *
GYM A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational i ...
(2006) * Kisarazu Cats Eye feat. MCU (2006) * Trio the Shakiiin (2007) * Hey! Say! 7 (2007) * Matchy with Question (2008) * The Shigotonin (2009) *
NYC boys NYC was a Japanese band. The band's members are Ryosuke Yamada and Yuri Chinen, who are members of another Japanese band called Hey! Say! JUMP, and Johnny's Jr. Yuma Nakayama in 2010. Before that, seven-members unit NYC Boys (stylized NYC boys) ...
(2009) * Snow Prince Gasshodan (2009) *
Lands Land is the solid surface of the Earth that is not covered by water. Land, lands, The Land, or the Lands may also refer to: Entertainment and media Film * ''Land'' (1987 film), a British television film by Barry Collins * ''Land'' (2018 film), ...
(2009) * Marching J (2011) * A.N. Jell (2011) * The Monsters (2012) * Hottake Band (2014) * Jigoku-zu (2016) * Kame to Yamapi (2017) * A.Y.T (2017)


Former actors

* Nobuhiro Aoyama * Keiichi Miyoshi (1982–1991) *
Mizuki Sano is a Japanese actor and the eldest member of Johnny's Jr., the trainee unit of the well-known talent agency Johnny & Associates. He is perhaps best known for his role in ''Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo'' and his various activities as a member of Jo ...
(1991–2019)


See also

*
List of record labels File:Alvinoreyguitarboogie.jpg File:AmMusicBunk78.jpg File:Bingola1011b.jpg Lists of record labels cover record labels, brands or trademarks associated with marketing of music recordings and music videos. The lists are organized alphabetically, b ...
* Hadaka no Shōnen


Notes


References


External links

* (in Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnny and Associates J-pop Japanese record labels Japanese talent agencies Record labels established in 1962 1962 establishments in Japan