Johnny & Associates Inc.
|
Native name
|
株式会社ジャニーズ事務所 |
|---|---|
| Public | |
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | June 1962 |
| Founder | Johnny Kitagawa |
| Headquarters |
8-11-20 Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo 107-0052, Japan |
| Products | Entertainment |
| Services | Entertainment |
| Subsidiaries | Johnny's Entertainment J Storm J-One Records |
| Website | www |
Johnny & Associates (株式会社ジャニーズ事務所 Kabushiki-gaisha Janīzu Jimusho) is a Japanese talent agency, formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1962, which trains and promotes groups of male entertainers known as Johnnies (ジャニーズ Janīzu) 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.
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.
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.
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