Native name 株式会社ジャニーズ事務所 Industry Entertainment Services Entertainment Founded June 1962 | Type Public Products Entertainment Founder Johnny Kitagawa Headquarters Minato | |
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Subsidiaries Johnny's Entertainment
J Storm
J-One Records Artists SMAP, Hey! Say! JUMP, Johnny's West, Kei Inoo, Ryosuke Yamada | ||
Johnny & Associates (株式会社ジャニーズ事務所, Kabushikigaisha 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) 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.
Contents
1962–1989
In 1962, Kitagawa launched his first group, Johnnys. Six years later, Four Leaves (a boy band created by the agency) became successful. 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) and Hikaru Genji, the first Johnny group with three singles on the Japanese Oricon yearly chart in 1988.
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. Another reason cited was that the nominations would engender competition among Johnny groups and with other nominees.
SMAP debuted in 1991, hosting television and radio shows, appearing in commercials and acting on television and film. 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. In 1997 the agency founded a record label, Johnny's Entertainment.
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.
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, 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. 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. 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.
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.
Actors
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.