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154-399: In 2010, Akanishi left the group to start a solo career, making the group's acronym then come from Kamenashi, Taguchi, Tanaka, Ueda, and Nakamaru, and the group toured with five members. In 2013, Tanaka's contract was terminated for several violations, leaving KAT-TUN as a four-man ensemble, and Tatsuya Ueda took the T to keep the acronym. By the end of March 2016, Taguchi left both the group and

308-480: A New Year's Eve countdown concert is held live on Fuji TV from the Tokyo Dome since 1996 known as Johnny's Countdown Live with a different theme each year. 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

462-413: A YouTube channel for their trainee groups, Johnny's Jr. In January 2019, Hideaki Takizawa 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

616-410: A 3-Dome Tour entitled "KAT-TUN 10th Anniversary Live Tour 10Ks" were announced by the three remaining members through their official website. They also announced that the group activities of KAT-TUN will be on a temporary, indefinite hiatus (or so-called "recharging period") starting on May 1, 2016, as each member focused more on their solo projects and works. KAT-TUN 10th Anniversary Best "10Ks" album

770-583: A Hawaii concert is also being considered. Due to his absence from KAT-TUN's Asia concert tour and single promotions, Akanishi did not participate in the recording of KAT-TUN's twelfth single " Going! " set for release on May 12. Due to the political unrest in Thailand , Johnny & Associates announced on May 15 that KAT-TUN's concert in Bangkok would be indefinitely postponed. KAT-TUN released their first 2010 album, No More Pain , on June 16 in two versions:

924-703: A Sofina commercial, and "Diamond" as the theme song of NTV telecasts of Yomiuri Giants baseball games. It was announced on March 29 that Johnny's Company would start a new charity project called Marching J, a fundraising project for the Tohoku earthquake victims. The first part of the project started as an event held from April 1 through April 3. From the company, SMAP , Tokio , KinKi Kids , V6 , Arashi , Tackey and Tsubasa , NEWS , Kanjani8 , KAT-TUN, Hey! Say! JUMP and some of Johnny's Juniors participated in this first event. The first event will be held in Tokyo, in front of

1078-477: A Wing TV commercial, and "Run For You" for a New Suzuki Solio commercial. On May 29, KAT-TUN with all its five members joined another Marching J project, "Johnny's Charity Baseball Tournament" with other Johnny artists and juniors at Tokyo Dome, in which the ticket sales would be donated for Japan's earthquake and tsunami victims. It was announced in mid-June that members Kazuya Kamenashi, Koki Tanaka and Yuichi Nakamaru would star in this year's Dream Boy musicals as

1232-513: A briefing for the press on the April programming lineup and said that it would “continue to solemnly continue” the use of talent belonging to Smile-Up. (formerly Johnny & Associates). On September 26, 2023, Hiroshi Shinozuka, president of TV Asahi , announced that he had asked the office to consider changing the company name, compensate the victims, and take thorough measures to prevent recurrence. He also stated that he did not believe that there

1386-429: A close eye on the response from their offices. On September 7, 2023, Fuji Television Hideaki Tatematsu, head of the programming and production bureau, responded, “There was no problem with the talent on the program, so we will continue to cast the talent as before. At a regular press conference on September 29, President Koichi Minato stated that sexual assault is unacceptable and asked the company to consider changing

1540-525: A firm focused on reparations for Kitagawa's sexual abuse cases, and Starto Entertainment , a talent agency managing existing acts under Johnny & Associates. Starto Entertainment , which takes the place of the entertainment side of Johnny's, started activities in April 2024, with an all-agency concert series, with Arashi 's Jun Matsumoto and Super Eight 's Tadayoshi Okura as co-directors. Groups Timelesz , Super Eight and West. performed before their fans soon after their respective name change. Under

1694-541: A five-member group while Akanishi held his own solo concerts in the United States, making him the first Johnny's artist to perform solo in the United States. KAT-TUN is set to have their Asia Tour from early May to late August and although the majority of the concerts will be held in Japan, KAT-TUN will also be heading to Bangkok on July 31, Seoul from August 6 to 7, and Taipei from August 27 to 28; other sources say that

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1848-625: A five-member group. On July 21, Akanishi himself confirmed through the official Johnny's mobile site, Johnny's Web, that he would leave KAT-TUN to focus on his solo career, although he had not appeared on any event to his fans until October. KAT-TUN continued as a group of five. On August 28, the last day of their World Big Tour 2010, KAT-TUN revealed their 2011 tour plan to celebrate their fifth anniversary by performing at industrial complexes in five cities in Japan and expanding its overseas tour to five different countries including Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, China, and Hawaii. The Hawaii concert would make them

2002-570: A former member of V6 , replaced Takizawa as vice president. On 4 September 2023 it was announced that Julie Fujishima would step down as president of the company and Noriyuki Higashiyama would become president. In the wake of continuing sexual abuse allegations directed against Kitagawa, who died in 2019, his niece, Julie Keiko Fujishima, stepped down as president in September 2023. On October 2, 2023, Johnny & Associates announced that they would be splitting into two entities: Smile-Up,

2156-456: A limited and regular edition that both include solo songs by each member. The limited edition contains thirteen songs and a bonus DVD with the PVs and making-of's the album's songs while the regular edition contains a bonus track. Johnny & Associates announced on July 17 that Akanishi would leave the group in late 2010 to pursue a solo career while the rest of the members would continue to work as

2310-534: A limited period. On February 11, they kicked off their nationwide tour "KAT-TUN Live Tour 2012 Chain". This tour covered 12 cities, including Sendai. The tour started in Niigata and will end in Sendai. They will become the first Johnnys group to perform in the affected areas after the earthquake and tsunami disaster. Music Station presented on Jan 13 with a special report for the 'Most Powerful Group BEST 20' which listed

2464-567: A mythical palace in the Kunlun Mountains . Tradition says that Masamune chose this kanji so that the castle would prosper as long as a mountain inhabited by an immortal hermit. Masamune ordered the construction of Sendai Castle in December 1600 and the construction of the surrounding castle town in 1601. The grid plan roads in modern-day central Sendai are based upon his plans. The first railway line between Sendai and Tokyo, now

2618-430: A one-off show broadcast on the night of January 1 on TBS. A few weeks later they announced the release of their sixth album, titled Chain , scheduled for release on February 22. On January 13, KAT-TUN endorsed the mobile game site Entag which used KAT-TUN's album track "Smile for You" as the commercial song and the first-ever KAT-TUN animation, "Ai wa KAT-TUN", voiced by KAT-TUN themselves, was launched on The Entag site for

2772-623: A paid on demand format. In January 2018, Johnny & Associates lifted their photo ban completely and allowed the press to post approved images of their talent more freely. In March 2018, Johnny & Associates launched a YouTube channel for selected Johnny's Jr. groups. Since Kitagawa's death in 2019, Johnny & Associates have expanded accessibility for their talent. This includes the opening of an official Twitter account for itself (which shares information about Johnny's talent, mostly in English), as well as different social media accounts for

2926-483: A particularly divided response among the broadcasters. On 8 September 2023, NHK , the Japanese public broadcaster, said in a statement that they took the matter seriously, and that they would "work harder to ensure that human rights are more respected in the broadcasting industry" when it comes to using performers who best fit program content and production. The public broadcaster added that it did not fully acknowledge

3080-472: A press conference on September 7 to formally acknowledge Kitagawa's abuse for the first time, while Fujishima resigned as CEO to assume the position as a representative director. Former Johnny's talent Noriyuki Higashiyama took over as CEO. As a response to the investigation's findings, several companies cancelled their contracts with entertainers from Johnny & Associates, including Tokio Marine Nichido , Asahi Group , and Japan Airlines . This led to

3234-604: A promenade and a few sculptures. It is a place of relaxation. Many events and festivals, such as the Sendai Pageant of Starlight and the Jozenji Street Jazz Festival, take place on Jozenji-Dori and in Kōtōdai Park ( 匂当台公園 ) . Aoba-Dori is the main business road in Sendai. Other major roads in the city include Hirose-Dori ( ginkgo ), and Higashi-Nibancho-Dori. The most famous festival in Sendai

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3388-663: A release of their 14th single on 2010s Christmas Eve, "Ultimate Wheels" on February 2, 2011, along with a tie-in CM of Suzuki Solio car that the group endorsed. On January 6, KAT-TUN announced its plan of KAT-TUN Live Tour 2011 during May to October. The tour includes the 5 big dome tour at Sapporo Dome, Tokyo Dome, Nagoya Dome, Yahoo Dome in Fukuoka, and Kyocera Dome in Osaka and a special live event in Kawasaki on July 17–19. KAT-TUN will become

3542-410: A result, the city's geography is quite diverse. Eastern Sendai is a plains area, the center of the city is hilly, and western areas are mountainous. The highest point in the city is Mount Funagata which stands 1,500 metres (4,921 feet) above sea level . Unique among Japan's large coastal cities, Sendai's city core is built on a terrace at 40–60 m (131–197 ft) elevation. The Sendai basin area

3696-453: A single day. This is the current record in Japan for the most performances in one day. Since then, KAT-TUN has held concerts in Japan almost every season. In 2003–2004, their popularity rose to that of a debuted group, to the point where they performed on Music Station multiple times before debuting. In 2005, KAT-TUN released their first major DVD, KAT-TUN Live Kaizokuban ( KAT-TUN Live海賊帆 , lit. KAT-TUN Live: Pirate Sails) , which topped

3850-554: A special charity-oriented group called J-Friends , 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 , SMAP , Tokio , KinKi Kids , V6 , Arashi , Tackey and Tsubasa , NEWS , Kanjani8 , KAT-TUN and Johnny's Juniors participated in

4004-532: A temple with a thousand Buddha statues ( 千体 , sentai ) used to be located in Aobayama. Masamune changed the kanji to " 仙臺 ", which later became " 仙台 " (literally: "hermit/wizard" plus "platform/plateau" or figuratively, "hermit on a platform/high ground"). The character came from a Chinese poem that praised a palace created by the Emperor Wen of Han China (reigned 180–157 BCE), comparing it to

4158-673: A total of four consecutive days at the Dome. This marked a historic event in the Dome's history, as KAT-TUN became the first Japanese artist to hold four consecutive days at the stadium since it opened in 1988. Other Japanese artists, such as SMAP , X Japan and Ayumi Hamasaki have had three consecutive days at the Dome. The Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson have played multiple days at the Dome, but they were not consecutive. On June 4, KAT-TUN released their third album, KAT-TUN III: Queen of Pirates . On December 3, KAT-TUN released " White X'mas ", their first Christmas single. On December 21, it

4312-511: Is 939 km (363 sq mi) (the mountainous area is 675 km (261 sq mi), the plain area is 245 km (95 sq mi) and the water body is 20 km (8 sq mi)). The basin consists of urban areas, paddy fields and forests. The mid and upstream areas have forests. The Natori River flows through the area and reaches Sendai Bay after 55 km (34 mi). The Hirose River ( 広瀬川 , Hirose-gawa ) flows 45 kilometres (28 miles) through Sendai. The river

4466-477: Is Tanabata, which attracts more than 2 million visitors every year and is the largest Tanabata Festival in Japan. It is relatively quiet compared to other traditional Japanese festivals, because its main attractions are intricate Tanabata decorations. The Aoba Matsuri Festival follows more typical Japanese festival traditions, with a mikoshi , floats , a samurai parade, and traditional dancing. Local people burn their New Year decorations and pray for health in

4620-545: Is US$ 61.7 billion in 2010. Sendai city by itself has a nominal GDP of approximately US$ 50 billion as of 2015 . The city's economy heavily relies upon retail and services – the two industries provide approximately two thirds of the employment and close to half of the establishments. Sendai is frequently called a branch-office economy , because very few major companies are headquartered in the city. Various authorities are cooperating to alleviate this problem, primarily by encouraging high-tech ventures from Tohoku University , which

4774-774: Is a dance festival, derived from the Yosakoi Festival that takes place in Kōchi . Trees in downtown Sendai are decorated with lights during the Sendai Pageant of Starlights. The event provided the idea for the Festival of Lights annually held in Riverside , Sendai's sister city. In 2005, the streets were lit up with one million miniature bulbs. Sendai is the origin of several foods, including gyūtan (beef tongue, usually grilled), hiyashi chūka (cold Chinese noodles), and robatayaki (Japanese-style barbecue). However, robatayaki

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4928-516: Is cleared by their main office in the US. On October 5, 2023, FTI Consulting admitted the existence of the 'blacklist' as well as a candidate list of "preferable" reporters. According to the firm the lists were given to the conference moderator. Mutual concerns over reporters who could spend long periods of time talking about their own opinions, or ask thoughtless questions (or remarks) that could be unnecessarily stressful, painful, and/or uncomfortable to

5082-535: Is connected to other highways, such as the Sendai-Nambu Road, Sendai-Tobu Road, Sanriku Expressway (Sendai-Matsushima Road), and Sendai Hokubu Road. Ferries connecting Tomakomai and Nagoya stop at the Port of Sendai. The most well-known streets in Sendai, Jozenji-Dori ( 定禅寺通り ) and Aoba-Dori ( 青葉通り ) , are both lined with Japanese zelkovas . These are symbols of "The City of Trees". Jozenji-Dori has

5236-471: Is later than in most cities in Japan. During this season, cold winds from the Okhotsk air mass, called " Yamase ", blow in and depress daytime highs. See or edit raw graph data . As of 1 March 2023 , the city had an estimated population of 1,097,407 and a population density of 1,397 persons per km . The city's total area was 786.35 km . The 2000 National Census revealed that 88.5% of

5390-422: Is making progress in dealing with the victims. We may have a different way of thinking than NHK .” At the regular press conference on April 22, 2024, President Akira Ishizawa explained that he is continuing dialogue with both Smile-Up and Starto Entertainment . He said that CEO Atsushi Fukuda visited Nippon TV December of the previous year. He then stated that he was aware that the production site had entered

5544-487: Is much lower than cities on the Sea of Japan coast, such as Niigata and Tottori . Summers are very warm and much of the year's precipitation is delivered at this time, with an August average of 24.1 °C (75.4 °F). The city is rarely hit by typhoons , and experiences only 6 days with more than 10 centimetres (4 in) of rainfall on average. Sendai's monsoon season usually begins in late April to early October, which

5698-403: Is near several major fishing ports, such as Kesennuma , Ishinomaki , and Shiogama , and the fact that Miyagi Prefecture is a major producer of rice . There are many ramen restaurants in Sendai, and the area is known for a particular spicy miso ramen . Also, Sendai station offers the most types of ekiben of any station in Japan. In autumn, many people organise Imonikai, a sort of picnic by

5852-515: Is no longer, being reborn under the name "Mindful", for which a new company has been established. General Incorporated Association "Mindful" will take over the charity activities, as well as other social contribution activities, like mental health care (which includes the support for sexual assault victims), enrollment support for higher education students in the Nursing field, and others. The business model of Johnny & Associates has an agency at

6006-519: Is similar to other cities in Japan, because the Local Autonomy Law makes all municipalities uniform in terms of organization and power. However, Sendai is a designated city, so it has the same jurisdiction as prefectures in some areas. Sendai has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature. The Sendai City Assembly members are elected from 5 elective districts, which correspond to

6160-436: Is steadily progressing, and that requests to perform–including Kōhaku Uta Gassen for current Starto celebrities would resume. Commercial broadcasters had already announced on the resumption of new appointments to celebrities belonging to Starto. On the other hand, the four commercial broadcasters with numerous regular programs are taking a flexible stance, allowing the talent to continue appearing on their programs while keeping

6314-462: Is well known as a symbol of Sendai, especially because it appears in the lyrics of Aoba-jō Koi-uta (青葉城恋唄; literally, The Aoba Castle Love Song ), a popular song sung by Muneyuki Satō. Aoba Castle was built close to the river to use the river as a natural moat . The river frequently flooded until the 1950s, but dams and levees constructed in the 1960s and 1970s have made such floods rare. Most mountains in Sendai are dormant volcanoes, much older than

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6468-511: Is well known for its science and engineering departments. There are also incentives for startups available from the prefectural government. Tohoku Electric Power , a major regional supplier of electric power, has its headquarters in Sendai and also operates the Shin-Sendai Thermal Power Station located within the city. Sendai's economic growth rate has stabilized since the 2011 Japan earthquake. The growth rate

6622-538: The Meiji Restoration , after the feudal Sendai Domain encouraged residents to plant trees in their gardens. As a result, many houses, temples, and shrines in central Sendai had household forests ( 屋敷林 , yashikirin ) , which were used as resources for wood and other everyday materials. In 1925, the Senseki Line to Sendai Station became the first underground railway segment in Japan, preceding

6776-569: The Oricon charts for three weeks straight, becoming the first debut single to do so in Japan in 8 years 8 months since KinKi Kids ' debut single "Garasu no Shōnen." The single sold over a million copies in nine weeks, making "Real Face" the highest selling single for the year 2006. In March 2006, KAT-TUN became the first group to hold their own performances in Japan's most popular stadium, Tokyo Dome , before debuting. They performed to 110,000 people over two days and about 630,000 people in total during

6930-507: The Oricon yearly chart for the best-selling DVD. At the 20th Japan Gold Disc Awards , Live Kaizokuban placed on the Music Video Of The Year list. On March 22, KAT-TUN released their debut single " Real Face ", accompanied by an album, Best of KAT-TUN and a DVD Real Face Film . These were released on their own label J-One Records . The group also went on a nationwide tour, Live of KAT-TUN "Real Face" , in support of

7084-626: The Supreme Court of Japan . 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. On March 7, 2023, the BBC released a documentary centered on the sexual harassment claims against Kitagawa titled Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop . In response, Johnny & Associates released a statement stating that they were working on creating "transparent organizational structures" that will be announced later in

7238-487: The Tōhoku Main Line , opened in 1887, bringing the area within a day's travel from Tokyo for the first time in history. Tohoku Imperial University , the region's first university, was founded in Sendai in 1907 and became the first Japanese university to admit female students in 1913. Sendai was incorporated as a city on 1 April 1889, with the post- Meiji restoration creation of the modern municipalities system following

7392-519: The Tōhoku region . As of 1 August 2023 , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, and is one of Japan's 20 designated cities . The city was founded in 1600 by the daimyō Date Masamune . It is nicknamed the City of Trees ( 杜の都 , Mori no Miyako ) ; there are Japanese zelkova trees lining many of the main thoroughfares such as Jōzenji Street ( 定禅寺通 , Jōzenji dōri ) and Aoba Street ( 青葉通 , Aoba dōri ) . In

7546-521: The abolition of the han system . At the time of incorporation, the city's area was 17.45 square kilometres (6.74 sq mi) and its population was 86,000. The city grew, however, through seven annexations that occurred between 1928 and 1988. The city became a designated city on 1 April 1989; the city's population exceeded one million in 1999. Sendai was considered to be one of Japan's greenest cities, mostly because of its great numbers of trees and plants. Sendai became known as The City of Trees before

7700-609: The 10th full album Honey . Two songs, "Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" and "Sting", are the lead songs, with the album released on March 29. They also held "KAT-TUN Live Tour 2022 Honey" from April 1 to June 4, via eight locations. On February 15, 2023, “Fantasia” album was released following KAT-TUN's "Honey" released in March 2022. "With the theme of "genreless", it is a work that collects songs of various genres. Contains 15 songs including DIRTY LUV, Wild Rose, Love Lots Together, and others. Johnny%27s Jr Johnny & Associates, Inc.

7854-567: 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,

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8008-500: The 20th century, the F.C. was largely maintained through mail and fax . Johnny & Associates has exercised strict control over their talent's 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. The agency began changing their stance on posting photos of their talent on different sites around 2007, with

8162-534: The 9.0 magnitude 2011 Tōhoku earthquake occurred offshore Sendai, resulting in a devastating tsunami. Sendai has five wards ("ku"), which were created when it became a designated city in 1989. The city consciously avoided names that included directions (e.g., north 北 , center 中央 ) when it chose names for the new wards. per km Sendai has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen Cfa ), which features warm and wet summers, and cool and dry winters. Sendai summers are not as hot as Tokyo to

8316-582: The DVD to their Tokyo Dome Live of KAT-TUN "Real Face" concert. The DVD marked their fifth consecutive release topping the Oricon musical DVD chart, and set the opening week record for the year. KAT-TUN took the annual number one position on the Oricon musical DVD charts for the third time in a row with the release. After KinKi Kids, KAT-TUN is the second artist to have all singles since debut to exceed 300,000 in sales during their first week. KAT-TUN released 'Lips',

8470-760: 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 members Shingo Katori , Tsuyoshi Kusanagi , and Goro Inagaki . Despite lack of hard evidence, Johnny & Associates received a warning. On October 2, 2023, during a press conference addressing sexual assault allegations Johnny & Associates staff were videorecorded holding documents with lists labelled "NG (no good) Reporters," with at least 6 portrait photos and their corresponding seat numbers. According to

8624-512: The Japanese Oricon 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

8778-690: The Miyagi Prefectural legislature. In terms of national politics, the city is divided between the Miyagi 1st district and the Miyagi 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan . Sendai is the center of the Tōhoku region's economy, and is the base of the region's logistics and transportation. The GDP in Greater Sendai, Sendai Metropolitan Employment Area (1.6 million people),

8932-497: The NHK the documents were brought in by FTI Consulting , a United States-based consulting company hired by Johnny & Associates to manage the press conference, to blacklist specific media reporters. During the conference each media outlet was allowed one question after being picked by the moderator. On October 4, 2023, Johnny & Associates denied involvement, stating "No one from our company has seen anything." Inohara on seeing

9086-524: The Oricon weekly singles chart for selling 230,829 copies, resulting in KAT-TUN's thirteenth consecutive number one single since their debut plus all of their 13 singles sold over 200,000 copies in the first week. On December 29, KAT-TUN released KAT-TUN -NO MORE PAIИ- WORLD TOUR 2010 DVD, featuring their last day in Japan leg of their successful World Big Tour 2010 at Kyocera Dome and more concert footages from their Korea and Taiwan legs. The group announced

9240-474: The Oricon weekly singles chart, resulting in KAT-TUN's eleventh consecutive number one single since their debut. It became KAT-TUN's first single to sell more than 350,000 copies in its first week since the May 2008 release of their single " Don't U Ever Stop ", which sold more than 381,000 copies in its first week. On March 24, Johnny & Associates announced that KAT-TUN would go on their first Asia concert tour as

9394-461: The Top 20 most powerful groups of all time in terms of physical single and album sales, KAT-TUN was listed at number 16 with their five-year debut, 17 singles and 5 albums, together they have sold over 8,450,000 records. Music Station hints to this ranking included the debut single 'Real Face' which became 2006's number 1 selling single and how they managed to hold 8 consecutive concerts at Tokyo Dome. Among

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9548-518: 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, a 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. By 2008, Johnny & Associates

9702-402: The acts that had been managed under Johnny & Associates. In 1962, Kitagawa launched his first group, Johnnys . In its early days, Kitagawa's agency rented an office space owned by Watanabe Productions , 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

9856-598: The agency at a young age to train in singing, dancing, and acting until their debut. 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

10010-441: The agency, as well as the fans, keeping a vigilant watch on what was shared, with the latter alerting people against doing it because of the possible consequences. Official events, such as the naming of Hideaki Takizawa as "Japan-UAE Goodwill Ambassador" in 2017, saw full view photographs shared online, while the agency's paid subscription services, like Johnny's Web , shared digital content in limited quantities. While some of

10164-643: The agency, leaving KAT-TUN with only three remaining members. Before becoming KAT-TUN, each member belonged to different trainee units within Johnny & Associates. In 2001, eight members were chosen to become a temporary dancing unit in order to support Koichi Domoto in the NHK music program, Pop Jam . The eight members were switched around before it officially became KAT-TUN, with the current three members plus Jin Akanishi, Koki Tanaka and Junnosuke Taguchi. Although

10318-514: The album. Within the first week, Best of KAT-TUN , "Real Face" and Real Face Film topped all three Oricon weekly charts by selling 556,548 copies, 754,234 copies and 374,202 copies respectively Total 1,684,984 copies. They became the second artists to do so, the first being Ayumi Hamasaki . With these numbers, KAT-TUN holds the record for the highest weekly single debut sales (previously held by Arashi with their debut single " Arashi " of 557,000 copies sold in 1999). In addition, "Real Face" topped

10472-413: The artists. Several former acts from Johnny & Associates, including former Four Leaves member Koji Kita in 1988 and former Johnny Jr.'s member Junya Hiramoto in 1996, alleged that Johnny Kitagawa had been sexually abusing several boys at the agency in their books. In 2001, Shūkan Bunshun ran a series of similar sexual harassment allegations along with claims that Kitagawa had allegedly forced

10626-455: The audience by announcing that he had decided to quit not only KAT-TUN but also from Johnny's Entertainment and that he would retire from the industry by Spring the following year. KAT-TUN released two more singles as a four-member group—"Tragedy" on February 10, 2016, followed by "Unlock" on March 2, 2016, both of which had reached number 1 in Oricon chart in their first week. A compilation album entitled "KAT-TUN 10th Anniversary BEST 10Ks" and

10780-437: The blacklist during a rehearsal meeting between Johnny & Associates and FTI Consulting staff reportedly pushed back, saying "What does this mean? It's no good if we don't call on everyone." On October 5, 2023, Johnny & Associates issued a press release stating a media blacklist was never produced nor requested by their staff. When asked to issue an apology FTI Consulting allegedly countered that they can only do so once it

10934-477: The boys to drink alcohol and smoke. Johnny & Associates sued Shukan Bunshun for defamation, and in 2002, the Tokyo District Court ruled in favor of Kitagawa, awarding him ¥8.8 million in damages. In 2003, the fine was lowered to ¥1.2 million on the basis that the drinking and smoking allegations were defamatory, while the sexual harassment claims were not. Kitagawa filed an appeal to

11088-541: 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 keiretsu 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

11242-411: The charity projects as part of their 2024 activities, with the single "We are", sung by the special unit "STARTO for you", formed by 75 members of 14 groups. The single was released in digital form on April 10, and as CD on June 12, with sales of the single going to Noto Earthquake relief funds. Additional information is expected to be released at a later date. As of June 5, 2024, the "Smile-Up Project"

11396-468: The city include Tohoku International School . The city is served by Sendai Airport (located in neighboring Natori ), which has international flights to several countries, and the Port of Sendai. A rail link to Sendai began service on March 18, 2007. JR East 's Sendai Station is the main transport hub for the city. The station is served by seven JR lines and is a major station on the Tōhoku and Akita Shinkansen lines. An underground passage connects

11550-425: The city suffered catastrophic damage from a magnitude 9.0 offshore earthquake , which triggered a destructive tsunami . Although the Sendai area was inhabited as early as 20,000 years ago, the history of Sendai as a city begins from 1600, when the daimyō Date Masamune relocated. Masamune was not happy with his previous stronghold, Iwadeyama , which was located in the northern portion of his territories and

11704-409: The city's 5 wards. The number of assembly members allocated to each ward is based upon population. As of May 2005, the city has 60 assembly members; 17 from Aoba Ward, 11 from Miyagino, 8 from Wakabayashi, 13 from Taihaku, and 11 from Izumi. The City Assembly elects an Assembly Chairperson and Vice Chairperson. Sendai has two vice mayors, who are not elected by the populace. Miyagi contributes 24 seats to

11858-467: The city's population (892,252 people) lived in a 129.69 km area, which is 16.6% of the city's total area. The population density in this area was 6,879.9 persons per km , more than 5 times higher than the city's average population density at that time, 1,286.6 persons per km . Approximately 10,000 people in Sendai were non-Japanese citizens. Sendai had 525,828 households in 2020. The average household had approximately 2.07 members. The average household

12012-492: The city. Sendai has been subject to several major earthquakes in recent history, including the 1978 Miyagi earthquake , which was a catalyst for the development of Japan's current earthquake resistance standards, and the 2005 Miyagi earthquake . Most recently, the coastal area of Sendai, including Sendai Airport , was severely damaged in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami . The tsunami reportedly reached as far as Wakabayashi Ward Office, 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) from

12166-491: The coastline. Thousands were killed, and countless more were injured and/or made homeless. Sendai's port was heavily damaged and temporarily closed, reopening on 16 April 2011. Sendai is located at lat. 38°16'05" north, long. 140°52'11" east. The city's area is 788.09 km (304.28 sq mi), and stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the Ōu Mountains , which are the east and west borders of Miyagi Prefecture. As

12320-438: The company announced a strict policy of terminating the appearance of talents formerly affiliated with Johnny & Associates on its programs and not allowing them to appear on new programs after FY2024. In October 2024, NHK Chairman Nobuo Inaba announced at a regular press conference that, he had confirmed efforts of Smile-Up to compensate victims and prevent recurrence and the separation of management from Starto Entertainment

12474-446: The company had made a verbal request to Johnny's to change the name of the company and reform the organization. He also made a request in writing for the implementation of measures to prevent recurrence and to create an environment that facilitates the activities of the talents belonging to the company, claiming that relief measures for victims are inadequate. At a press conference on November 27, President Ishizawa revealed that regarding

12628-412: 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 talent 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

12782-421: The company. Updated numbers as of 16 February, mention 957 claimants, 282 notified the details of compensation, 246 have accepted the details, and 201 have been paid. An independent probe established by Johnny & Associates reported the findings of their investigation on August 29, 2023, saying that Kitagawa repeatedly committed sexual abuse from the early 1970s until the mid-2010s. Johnny & Associates held

12936-400: 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 , News 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 . This group sang

13090-477: The edition of Higashiyama's words in the interview included in the program, as well as demanding a correction and apology for the problems caused by it to both Higashiyama and the victims who agreed to be interviewed. On May 3, 2024, the BBC refuted Smile-up's claims via X . For years, Johnny & Associates has been suspected of having connections with the mass media to produce extensive and favorable coverage on

13244-429: The end of December 2011 with a total of 10 episodes. On September 30, 2011, KAT-TUN announced their 17th single "Birth" as the soundtrack to Kamenashi Kazuya's drama "Youkai Ningen Bem" would have been released on November 30. "Birth" became their 17th straight No.1 single on the Oricon's weekly chart since their debut. KAT-TUN began their new year with an extreme special TV show titled KAT-TUN no Sekaiichi Dame Yoru Ni ,

13398-512: 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 were distributed around Japan and were included in the Smile Up! Project's social network accounts. Even in

13552-406: The face of Arashi 's Sho Sakurai that she had posted on her blog, substituting it with a hand-drawn teddy bear and a written message, and later, with a hand-drawn version of the fan. Apparently, one of the events that started the movement to freeing the images of Johnny's idols online, was NHK 's 2009 Kōhaku Uta Gassen , as the agency reached an agreement with the network to air the program in

13706-484: The first Johnny artist to hold a concert in Hawaii. The World Big Tour is where former member Tanaka Koki gave the name "hyphens" to the fans, saying that the fans unite KAT-TUN together. On October 13, KAT-TUN announced the release of their new single, "Change Ur World", which was KAT-TUN's 13th single and the first single after Akanishi's official departure, was released on November 17. The single debuted at number one on

13860-463: The first Yoyogi gymnasium. Groups took turns according to their schedule and will have a talk session in front of the fans, also calling out for donations for the earthquake victims. And due to this disaster, all the planned events to celebrate KAT-TUN's 5th debut anniversary were canceled. On May 18, KAT-TUN's 15th single, "White", was released with "Perfect" as its coupling song. By this time, they also announced another two new songs, "Cosmic Child" for

14014-469: The formation was only meant to be a temporary support unit, KAT-TUN gained a great deal of attention and became a solid unit. In 2002, in response to many requests, KAT-TUN held their first concert called Okyaku-sama wa Kami-summer - Concert 55man Nin Ai no Request ni Kotaete!! ( お客様は神サマーConcert 55万人愛のリクエストに応えて!! ) , for which 550,000 people tried to get tickets. That same year, they performed eleven shows in

14168-505: The fourth Johnny group to be able to conquer the 5 big domes in Japan after SMAP, KinKi Kids and Arashi. After October, the group will start their Asia Tour that includes Thailand, Taiwan, and Korea. "Ultimate Wheels" became their 14th straight No.1 single since their debut. The total number of copies sold in the first week was over 180,000 copies, reported by Oricon. Early March, KAT-TUN announced three new songs in three days, including "Perfect" for Kamenashi's new Aoki TV commercial, "White" for

14322-453: 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. 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

14476-482: The groups in Top 20, KAT-TUN is apparently the newest group on the list. KAT-TUN's 6th studio album, "CHAIN", reached No.1 on Oricon album ranking on March 5, making them the first male artist in history to have six consecutive No.1 albums ever since the debut. KAT-TUN broke the record for the first time in 24 years and 10 months. On March 8, it was announced that the second episode of KAT-TUN no Sekaiichi Dame Yoru Ni will be aired on April 3. Official confirmations for

14630-570: The historic center of the city was burned, with 2,755 inhabitants killed and 11,933 houses destroyed in the city. Following World War II, the city was rebuilt, and Sendai became a vital transportation and logistics hub for the Tōhoku region with the construction of major arteries such as the Tōhoku Expressway and Tōhoku Shinkansen . In the early 1950s, the United States Army, Japan operated Camp Schimmelpfennig and Camp Sendai in

14784-502: The improvement of the human rights environment (on the part of Johnny & Associates),” and added, “In the meantime, there will be no change in the current contracted talent who are performing in the future. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, ” he said. Regarding future appointments, he said, “We will make an appropriate decision while keeping a close eye on how the Johnny's will improve human rights and how it will make steady progress in this area. On March 5, 2024, they held

14938-410: The initial "photos" were life-like drawings or paintings, a small amount of authentic photos where being shared by some drama and other TV program websites, with the usage permit for these being cleared, as in the case of SMAP 's Goro Inagaki 's drama, for example. Even singer Hikaru Utada felt the pressure of Johnny's policy about their artists' photos, when she deleted a photo of an uchiwa fan with

15092-404: The leads, shows will commence from September 3 to 25. On September 8, 2011, it was confirmed that KAT-TUN would host a new TV show titled KAT-TUN no Zettai Manetaku Naru TV , their first show since Cartoon KAT-TUN ended in March 2010. The new show began airing on October 18 on NTV. During the broadcast of the first episode, it was revealed that the show will only air for a limited time until

15246-424: The managing director, said, "We have heard that compensation for victims is progressing and that the new company, Starto Entertainment , will officially begin operations in April. For our part, we are willing to cast new talent from the former Johnny's if the compensation issue is progressing". 20 September 2023, TBS Television (Japan) President Takashi Sasaki stated, “We will continue to closely monitor trends in

15400-444: The media. Arc Times editor Toshihiko Ogata who was attending commented "As expected, it was a rigged press conference. We also got ahold of this list and are waiting for a formal response. I think it's amazing that the NHK was able to capture that footage." Shūkan Bunshun journalist Ryūtarō Nakamura commented "This is a total out . With this it's obvious that their unscrupulous ways haven't changed. 'We didn't know' or 'a third-party

15554-575: The middle of the turmoil surrounding the agency, as Smile Up, they posted a new charity event to help out the people affected in the Noto Peninsula earthquake that happened as 2024 rolled in. On January 4, the company announced through its official website that it would set up donation boxes at concert and theater performance venues where its artists would perform, and its XXXXX Pop Up Stores in Shibuya, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka, in order to support

15708-580: The more famous Mount Zaō and Naruko volcanoes in nearby municipalities. However, many hot springs can be found in the city, indicating hydrothermal activity . The Miyagi Oki earthquake occurs offshore Sendai once every 25 to 40 years. The 7.2 magnitude 2005 Miyagi earthquake , which occurred on August 16, 2005, had an epicenter close to the Miyagi Oki earthquake area. However, the Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion concluded that it

15862-424: The most no.1 overall DVDs in history after B'z and Mr.Children. "Expose" sold 155,000 copies in the first weeks. With this single, their number of consecutive singles topping the chart has reached 20. KAT-TUN is the second artist to top the singles chart for 20 consecutive singles since the debut. It was only achieved by their senior KinKi Kids 8 years and a month ago with “Anniversary”. In October 2013, Koki Tanaka

16016-485: The name of "We are! Let's get the party STARTO!!", the concert series took place over three days, in Tokyo Dome on April 10 and at Kyocera Dome Osaka on May 29 and 30, with appearances of NEWS , Super Eight, KAT-TUN , Hey! Say! JUMP , Kis-My-Ft2 , Timelesz, A.B.C-Z , WEST., King & Prince , SixTones , Snow Man , Naniwa Danshi and Travis Japan . In 1998, Johnny's groups KinKi Kids , V6 and Tokio, formed

16170-405: The name of the company and separating the company in charge of victim relief from the company in charge of managing the talent. Regarding the future use of the talent belonging to the company in programs, President Minato said, “We will make an appropriate decision while confirming that measures for victims are being steadily implemented. At a regular press conference on February 16, 2024, Toru Ota,

16324-751: The new year during the Dontosai Festival, the oldest festival in Miyagi Prefecture. Various contemporary festivals also take place in Sendai, such as the Jōzenji Streetjazz Festival, the Michinoku Yosakoi Festival, and the Sendai Pageant of Starlight. The Jōzenji Streetjazz Festival is one of the largest amateur music festivals in Japan. It began as a jazz festival in 1991, but soon began to accept applications from all genres. The Michinoku Yosakoi festival

16478-427: The number one spot top the Oricon weekly album chart, selling approximately 168,000 copies in its first week of release. The album is KAT-TUN's seventh consecutive album to achieve number one, putting them in a tie with singer Hikaru Utada for most consecutive album number ones in Oricon chart history. "In Fact" was their 22nd single released on June 4, 2014, under the label J-One Records . The title track "In Fact"

16632-625: The opening of the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line (Asia's first subway line) by two years. The 2nd Infantry Division was known as the "Sendai Division" as it was based in Sendai, and recruited locally. During the Second World War it was involved in many different campaigns, but one of the most important was the Battle of Guadalcanal . During the bombing of Sendai during World War II by the United States on 10 July 1945, much of

16786-414: The policy of appointing talents to programs, Executive Director Hiroyuki Fukuda expressed his basic opinion, "We will reconsider once we confirm the progress of the case and the response of the other party, but we will not make any new casting or booking in the absence of such a confirmation". On the other hand, regarding the continued use, he said, seeking understanding, “We have also confirmed that Smile-Up

16940-466: The recommendations of the Special Team for Recurrence Prevention. In addition, the agency promised to not receive remuneration for the talent's program and commercial advertisement appearances for one year, with all income going directly to the artist. A follow-up program by the BBC aired in 2024, called "Our World: The Shadow of a Predator". On April 25, Smile Up sent the BBC a letter protesting

17094-418: The regular TV programs where they were regulars individually. All had been part or starred in different dramas, movies and theatrical plays and all three also had the chance to perform in a concert and stage shows. On January 1, 2018, on the annual Johnny's Countdown, a big surprise had been announced and that KAT-TUN had finally resumed their group activities. The group sang their debut song, "Real Face", which

17248-518: The rest of KAT-TUN during their tour on April 21 in Sendai for the encore, marking his official return to KAT-TUN. On June 6, KAT-TUN released their fourth single, " Yorokobi no Uta ", as the theme song to Tanaka's drama, Tokkyu Tanaka 3 Go . On November 21, they simultaneously released their fifth single, " Keep the Faith ", as the theme song to members Akanishi and Taguchi's drama, Yukan Club , and

17402-745: The river which involves making a potato stew called Imoni . Many crafts from Sendai were originally created under the influence of the Date family during the Edo period . Examples are Sendai Hira, a hand woven silk fabric, Tsutsumiyaki pottery, and Yanagiu Washi paper . However, some crafts, such as umoregi zaiku (crafts created from fossil wood) were developed by low-ranking samurai who needed side jobs to survive. Kokeshi dolls were popularized by hot spring resorts that sold them as gifts. Some relatively recent developments include Sendai Tsuishu lacquerware and Tamamushinuri lacquerware, both of which were developed after

17556-412: The sexual abuse matter despite various weekly magazine articles about the allegations and a Tokyo High Court ruling in 2004. A few weeks later, NHK announced that it would suspend new contracts with Johnny's performers–including for their annual New Year's Eve television special Kōhaku Uta Gassen –until the company has implemented compensation and recurrence prevention measures. In February 2024,

17710-432: The song "Smile" , written by Mr. Children 's Kazutoshi Sakurai , which was released as a single in digital form on June 22, and on CD on August 12. Yuya Tegoshi 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

17864-515: The south, while the winters are much milder than Sapporo to the north, but retains significant seasonal differences in temperature and rainfall. Extremes range from −11.7 to 37.2 °C (10.9 to 99.0 °F). Of Japan's prefectural capitals, Sendai experiences the fewest days of extreme temperatures (highs outside 0–30 °C (32–86 °F)) at 19.6 per year, compared to Tokyo's average of 49. Winters are cool and relatively dry, with January temperatures averaging 1.5 °C (34.7 °F). Snowfall

18018-480: The stage of considering new appointments of talents after receiving reports that the situation was progressing steadily. On 13 September 2023 was announced on the official site the establishment of the Victim Relief Committee & compensation reception desk. The Victim Relief Committee will be entrusted with determining the amount of compensation based on the contents of the declarations made by

18172-506: The station to the Sendai Subway . The subway has two lines— Namboku ("north-south") and Tōzai ("east-west") with a total of 30 stations. When completed in 2015, Yagiyama station became the highest-elevated subway station in the country at 136.4 meters. In addition to the public bus system, a loop bus called Loople runs between tourism hotspots around the city. The Tōhoku Expressway runs north–south through western Sendai, and

18326-548: The summer, the Sendai Tanabata Festival , the largest Tanabata festival in Japan, is held. In winter, the trees are decorated with thousands of lights for the Pageant of Starlight ( 光のページェント , Hikari no pējento ) , lasting through most of December. The city is also home to Tohoku University , consistently ranked amongst the top institutions of higher education in Japan. On 11 March 2011, coastal areas of

18480-477: The talent, so we will continue to make a comprehensive judgment based on the content of the project as we have in the past. I believe that Smile-Up. is in charge of compensating the victims, but I would like to ask that you continue to proceed with this matter in good faith and as quickly as possible. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and continue our dialogue with the office". On September 25, 2023, Nippon TV president Akira Ishizawa announced that

18634-453: The theme song for Bishounen's drama The High School Heroes that premiered on July 31. In February 2022, KAT-TUN announced the release of their digital single "Crystal Moment", as the theme song for NTV's coverage of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics , the rap lyrics were written by Arashi 's Sho Sakurai . For the first time in about two and a half years, KAT-TUN announced the release of

18788-508: The theme song to Kamenashi's drama based on the manga One Pound Gospel , as their sixth single on February 6. The single topped at number one on the Oricon charts. KAT-TUN released their seventh single " Don't U Ever Stop " on May 14, which topped the weekly Oricon chart. On May 15, during the MC segment promoting "Don't U Ever Stop" on Music Station , Kamenashi announced that two shows had been added to their Tokyo Dome tour dates, resulting in

18942-751: The theme song to members Kamenashi and Tanaka's drama, Tatta Hitotsu no Koi and their second album, Cartoon KAT-TUN II You on December 7. KAT-TUN is the first group in Japan to have all three singles from debut to exceed 500,000 in yearly sales, taking first, fifth and thirteenth place on the Oricon yearly singles chart. Under the same name as their second album, KAT-TUN started their second nationwide tour, Tour 2007 Cartoon KAT-TUN II You , still without Akanishi, on April 3. The next day, KAT-TUN began to host their own variety show Cartoon KAT-TUN , which aired every Wednesday from 11:55 p.m. to 12:26 a.m. Akanishi returned to Japan on April 19 and officially resumed work activities on April 20. Akanishi joined

19096-528: The theme song was "Roar", and it's a song about one's determination to keep walking towards the future even though the present is ambiguous and has no correct answer. The single was released on March 10 as KAT-TUN's first single in three years. To commemorate the 15th anniversary of debut, KAT-TUN embarked on their nationwide tour '15th Anniversary Live KAT-TUN' on March 20 at Yoyogi National Stadium First Gymnasium (Tokyo), and wrapped up on June 9 at Marine Messe Fukuoka , 22 performances in 7 cities. Their live tour

19250-402: The tour. About three months after releasing "Real Face", KAT-TUN released their second single, " Signal ", on July 19. On October 12, member Akanishi announced a hiatus from the group in order to study linguistics abroad in the United States, leaving KAT-TUN as a five-member group for six months. The remaining members continued activities by releasing their third single, " Bokura no Machi de " as

19404-400: The upcoming 2012 shows for Johnny's long-running Dream Boys musicals were released, and once again member Kamenashi reprises his role as the main lead for the musical. According to confirmation, the shows will begin in September. On April 20–22, KAT-TUN performed at Tokyo Dome as parts of their LIVE TOUR 2012 CHAIN tour. According to news reports, KAT-TUN's original idea "Flash-Tree" spotlights

19558-435: The vice presidents and Kitagawa's older sister, Mary Yasuko Fujishima, became the executive director. However, Mary Yasuko Fujishima died on August 14, 2021. After that, Johnny & Associates made their discography available on streaming platforms and opened social media accounts. On November 1, 2022, Takizawa resigned from his position as vice president and departed from Johnny & Associates. Yoshihiko Inohara ,

19712-412: The victims who are watching the conference was given as a reason to create the blacklist. Contradicting Johnny & Associates' claims FTI stated both parties confirmed their policy on conducting the press conference. The press conference attracted criticism from journalists, broadcasters, and politicians at a time when Johnny & Associates was attempting to mend its public image and relationship with

19866-403: The victims, as said on the announcement. The committee is composed of three lawyers with no ties to Johnny's Office, nor to the victims seeking compensation. On 2 October, an external Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) will be appointed to formulate and implement basic policies on human rights and develop internal rules. According to the site, the agency plans to announce more specific measures based on

20020-572: The victims. "By conducting this fundraising campaign as part of "Smile Up! Project", we aim to provide continued support. The entire SMILE-UP Group sincerely prays for the earliest possible recovery and reconstruction so that everyone affected by the disaster can return to their normal lives." One day later, they also posted information on the donation of 50 million yen to the Noto Peninsula Earthquake Disaster Relief Fund. Starto Entertainment continued

20174-409: The wake of continuing sexual abuse allegations directed against Kitagawa, who died in 2019, his niece, Julie Keiko Fujishima, stepped down as president in September 2023. On October 2, 2023, Johnny & Associates announced that they would be splitting into two entities: Smile-Up , a firm focused on reparations for Kitagawa's sexual abuse cases, and Starto Entertainment , a talent agency managing

20328-1164: The year. Due to the release of the documentary, reports from books and magazines dated back to the 1960s began to surface, with the first report appearing in Weekly Sankei 's 29 March 1965 issue. On April 12, 2023, musician and former Johnny's Jr. member Kauan Okamoto claimed Kitagawa had abused him since he was 15, and that he was not the only victim. As a response, Johnny & Associates stated they were working on transparency from within company and were working with their affiliates, to ensure thorough compliance with laws and strengthen organizational governance. The presidents of television networks Fuji TV , NHK , TV Asahi , and Nippon TV all stated in press conferences that they did not tolerate any kind of sexual violence and were conducting internal investigations. The networks continued to work with talent from Johnny & Associates. On May 14, 2023, Johnny Kitagawa's niece and company head Julie Keiko Fujishima issued an apology to all talent who had been allegedly sexually abused by Kitagawa and claimed not knowing any other information. She stated

20482-440: Was a Japanese talent agency formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1962, which managed groups of male idols known as Johnny's. The company had a significant impact on pop culture with male idols and boy bands in Japan since the 1980s. Until 2019, the company was known for its strict policies regarding music distribution abroad and its strict control over the right of publicity to using the likeness of idols under its management. In

20636-627: Was announced that KAT-TUN would release a new single " One Drop " as a tie-in theme song to Kamenashi's new drama, Kami no Shizuku , just two months after their "White X'mas" single. The release consisted of three versions: Limited Edition w/DVD, Regular Edition (First Press) and a Regular Edition. On February 10, KAT-TUN released their first single since March 2009, which was used for Kamenashi's live-action drama adaptation of Tomoko Hayakawa's manga series Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge , which premiered January 15 on TBS . The single, " Love Yourself (Kimi ga Kirai na Kimi ga Suki) ", debuted at number one on

20790-802: Was announced that KAT-TUN's Sekaiichi Dame Yoru Ni TV special will be turned into a regular show due to the success of the previous 2 special episodes. The regular show was renamed KAT-TUN Sekaiichi dame na yoru! and began airing on August 24 on TBS. KAT-TUN's 19th single "Fumetsu no Scrum" which was used as the theme song for Kanjani8 member Yasuda Shota's drama Dragon Seinendan , was released on September 12 and sold around 157,000 copies within its first week of release, this gives KAT-TUN their 19th consecutive #1 single since their debut in 2006. In November, KAT-TUN achieved their 9th consecutive no.1 music-DVD, and 8th no.1 overall DVD with their live DVD, "KAT-TUN LIVE TOUR 2012 CHAIN TOKYO DOME." The latter achievement puts them at 3rd place among male groups who have done

20944-538: Was any problem with the talent himself regarding his appearance on the program, and explained that there would be no change in the policy of making a comprehensive judgment based on the program's planned content. On March 8, 2024, a briefing on the April reorganization was held, at which Director General Akihiro Okukawa and General Manager Taichi Kono of the Content Organization Bureau took the stage. They said, "We are not aware of any problems with

21098-409: Was becoming smaller every year, because single-member households were increasing. At this time Sendai had more people in their early 50s and in their 20s and early 30s than in other age groups. This is a result of the first and second baby booms in Japan, and university students. The average age in Sendai is 38.4, which makes the city one of the youngest major cities in Japan. Sendai's political system

21252-404: Was broadcast, exceeded 20%. At this high-profile press conference, Tokyo Shimbun reporter Isoko Mochizuki , who is said to have been on the blacklist, persistently asked Noriyuki Higashiyama if he himself had been victims of sexual assault. Sendai Sendai ( 仙台市 , Sendai-shi , [seꜜndai] ) is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in

21406-492: Was called a nationally popular group, suddenly broke up. The reason was said to be a feud between the female manager Michi Iijima in charge and Mary Yasuko Fujishima, who was an executive at the office, a sister of Johnny Kitagawa. Iijima later established a new company, and the three members who left the office belonged to her company. In 2018, Johnny & Associates, especially Kitagawa, who had been previously known for strictly controlling access to their acts, established

21560-506: Was committed to implementing measures addressing the victim's needs. In the following days, more victims came out stating Kitagawa abused them, including former Johnny's Jr. Yasushi Hashida and former Kis-My-Ft2 member Kyohei Iida, the latter of whom stated he left his group due to being repeatedly sexually assaulted. As of 2 October 2023, 478 people reportely have claimed to have been victimized by Kitagawa and 325 of them sought compensation. Only 150 have been confirmed to have belonged in

21714-441: Was difficult to access from Edo (modern-day Tokyo). Sendai was an ideal location, being in the centre of Masamune's newly defined territories, upon the major road from Edo. Tokugawa Ieyasu gave Masamune permission to build a new castle in Aobayama after the Battle of Sekigahara . The previous ruler of the Sendai area had used a castle located on Aobayama. At this time Sendai was written as 千代 ("a thousand generations"), because

21868-414: Was introduced for the first time in Johnny and also Tokyo Dome's 25m moving stage was the longest in Johnny's history. On June 27, KAT-TUN released its 18th single To The Limit , which was used as a tie-up song for Suzuki Solio Bandit CM. On June 29 Music Station reported that KAT-TUN ranked as No.10 best-selling Heisei era's idol with the total sales of 6,661,293 copies from 17 singles. In early August it

22022-651: Was known as the "top 3" recording artist companies. 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 2016, SMAP , which had been active for 30 years and

22176-413: Was later introduced to Kushiro , which developed and popularized the dish. As a result, many people believe Kushiro is the origin of Robatayaki. Zundamochi (ずんだ餅, mochi balls with sweet, bright green edamame paste), and sasakamaboko (笹かまぼこ, kamaboko shaped like bamboo leaves) are also considered to be Sendai specialties. Sendai is also known for good sashimi , sushi , and sake . This is because Sendai

22330-423: Was later released through DVD and Blu-ray on November 24, which feature footage from the group's concert on May 29 at Pia Arena MM . On September 8, KAT-TUN announced double sided A-side single "We Just Go Hard" (featuring AK-69 ), the single was the image song for NTV's broadcast of professional baseball Dramatic Baseball 2021 as well as the theme song for NTV's 'Going! Sports & News'. Meanwhile, "Euphoria" as

22484-403: Was not the Miyagi Oki earthquake, saying "...the recent event is not thought to be this earthquake. This is because the magnitude of the earthquake was small, and the source area, which was estimated from the aftershock distribution and seismic waves, didn't cover the whole expected source region. Although, the recent event ruptured a part of the focal region of the expected earthquake." In 2011,

22638-508: Was only 0.4% in 2011 after the quake created economic turmoil in coastal areas. The year after, in 2012 the rate spiked to 10.4% after reconstruction efforts. It has since fallen to a closer trend to what is expected of 3.7% in 2013. Tourism in 2016 attracted an estimated 2.229 million visitors to Sendai. Sendai is sometimes called an "Academic City" ( 学都 , gakuto ) because the city has many universities relative to its population. Universities located within Sendai include: Schools in

22792-410: Was produced as a " Group sounds band that does not play instruments", a product of Kitagawa's taste for emphasizing the attributes, personality and physical abilities of a performer. Kitagawa formed a number of other successful acts, such as Masahiko Kondō , whose song "Orokamono" ( 愚か者 , Fool ) , won the 1987 Japan Record Award , and Hikaru Genji , the first Johnny group with three singles on

22946-437: Was released on January 21, 2015, and it debuted at the number one spot on the Oricon weekly single chart, selling over 192,000 copies in its first week of release. With this, KAT-TUN has then achieved their 23rd consecutive No.1 with their 23rd single. They are currently behind KinKi Kids who are with 34 consecutive No.1 singles since debut. On November 24, 2015, before their performance at Best Artist, Junnosuke Taguchi surprised

23100-518: Was removed from the band and the talent agency for having violated his contract, leaving KAT-TUN as a four-man ensemble. The mini album "Kusabi" was released on November 27, 2013, on J-Storm. The title track "Kusabi" was used as the theme song for the drama Henshin Interviewer no Yūutsu starring KAT-TUN member Yuichi Nakamaru and actress Fumino Kimura , while "Gimme Luv" was used in a Suzuki Solio Bandit television commercial. "Kusabi" debuted at

23254-460: Was responsible' is not valid. At the September 7 press conference attended by Noriyuki Higashiyama , Yoshihiko Inohara , and former president Julie Keiko Fujishima attracted a great deal of public attention and was broadcast live on almost all television stations in the afternoon. The total household viewership of NHK and four commercial broadcasters in the Kanto region, where the press conference

23408-500: Was the main theme song for the TV drama series "First Class". In Fact debuted at the number one spot top the Oricon weekly single chart, selling over 146,000 copies in its first week of release. With this, KAT-TUN achieved their 22nd consecutive No.1 with their 22nd single. On June 25, "Come Here" album was released and KAT-TUN became the first artist in history to have 8 consecutive No.1 albums since debut according to Oricon. "Dead or Alive"

23562-517: Was then followed by their song "Ask Yourself", the main theme song for Kamenashi's drama. After the performance, the group also announced that concert dates had been decided, which would be happening on April 20–22, 2018. The group later announced they would be releasing Cast on 18 July, their first original album in four years. On July 31, 2019, KAT-TUN released their ninth full album, Ignite . In January 2021, NTV drama 'Red Eyes: Kanshi Sousa-han' premiered on January 23, starred Kamenashi. The title of

23716-489: Was then released on March 22, 2016 (the same date with their debut album released back in 2006) and has reached number 1 in the Oricon chart in its first week. On August 17, 2016, KAT-TUN released the DVD for KAT-TUN 10th Anniversary Live Tour "10Ks!” and it reached the number one spot in the Oricon Chart as well. While the group activities are temporarily on hold, each member had their own individual projects, apart from

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