<figure id="attachment_308767" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1796px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-308767"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b5c5f2d4"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/04/SMAP.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-308767" class="wp-caption-text">Fans are hoping for a SMAP reunion, but&#8230;</figcaption></figure>
SMAP fans are getting very excited.
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The reason is that it was announced that Shingo Katori, another former member of SMAP, will be the first guest on the new regular program &#8220;Matsumoto to Nakai&#8221; (Fuji TV), to be hosted by former SMAP member Masahiro Nakai and Downtown star Hitoshi Matsumoto.
 Nakai and Katori will be appearing together on the show for the first time in six years. According to the program&#8217;s official Twitter page, it has been 2,199 days.
 In other words, the group broke up at the end of &#8217;16. This is the first time they have worked together since September 2005, when Katori, Kusanagi, and Inagaki became independent from Johnny&#8217;s.&#8221; (A reporter for a women&#8217;s magazine)
Incidentally, Nakai also became independent in 2008. Only Takuya Kimura is still a member of Johnny&#8217;s.
In the meantime, Matsumoto&#8217;s interactions with former SMAP members are becoming more and more active.
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Inagaki appeared on &#8220;Hitoshi Matsumoto no sake no tsumami ni naru hanashi&#8221; (Fuji TV) on the 21st. When asked about co-starring with former members, Inagaki replied,
 Inagaki replied, &#8220;I would like to meet them. I might bump into them in an elevator.
Inagaki&#8217;s answer hinted at the possibility of a reunion. Matsumoto then asked who he was talking about,
 Inagaki was embarrassed and said, &#8220;I haven&#8217;t worked with Kimura-san and Nakai-san recently.
Inagaki looked embarrassed and said, &#8220;Well, I don&#8217;t want Inagaki-san to get involved with me.
 I think Matsumoto is the only one in the entertainment world who can ask Inagaki that deeply. The breakup of SMAP is such a taboo subject that it is not something you can just casually mention. The fact that he was able to ask about it must have been because he is a close friend of Nakai-san and knows the situation deeply.
(A wide-show insider) Such an exchange was greeted with the following comments on the Internet
 I&#8217;m glad to hear Goro say &#8220;Kimura-san and Nakai-san.
 I&#8217;d love to see him on a TV show with Mr. Nakai and Mr. Kimura again someday.
The response was great.
The desire for a reunion of the legendary group that suddenly disbanded continues unabated. One of the people their fans were hoping to see as a &#8220;go-between&#8221; was Akashiya Sanma.
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Mr. Sanma is famous as a TV personality with whom I had a close relationship even before the breakup of SMAP. After the breakup of SMAP, he and Mr. Kimura often performed together, and he even declared on a TV program that he was a Kimura fan.
Sanma also appeared as a policeman in the opening scene of Kimura&#8217;s drama &#8220;Kazama Kimichika &#8211; Kyobo 0&#8221; (Fuji TV), which is currently airing. In addition, Kimura&#8217;s eldest daughter, Cocomi, was chosen as the voice actress for the animated film &#8220;Fishing Port Nekko-chan,&#8221; which he planned and produced, and it is well known that the relationship is not only between Kimura himself but also his family.
 In July 2010, Ms. Katori appeared on NHK&#8217;s music program &#8220;The 11th Akashiya Kohaku! (NHK), which was hosted by Sanma. In October of the same year, Mr. Katori appeared on &#8220;Waruiko Atsumare Autumn Thanksgiving Special&#8221; (NHK E-television), this time with the members of &#8220;New Map&#8221; as MCs.
 Fans&#8217; expectations for Mr. Sanma&#8217;s appearance on the program were heightened in anticipation of the reunion of the SMAP members, as he quickly became closer to the members who had become estranged after the breakup.
However, the members of SMAP have yet to be reunited. However, the members of SMAP have yet to appear together. In the end, Nakai and Katori were able to appear together.
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 Matsumoto has been in the spotlight this time around, but we mustn&#8217;t forget his partner, Masanori Hamada, who is also a member of New Map. Mr. Hamada and Mr. Kimura go golfing together in private. In other words, fans are expecting Downtown to give more support to the SMAP reunion than Mr. Hamada.
Of course, the members are now in different positions, so a reunion would not be an easy task. However, with Downtown&#8217;s backing, the possibility of such a reunion is said to be growing.
 There is no doubt that Mr. Sanma is one of the biggest names in the entertainment industry. However, the current management team of Yoshimoto Kogyo, including Chairman Hiroshi Osaki and President Akihiko Okamoto, have risen to prominence along with Downtown&#8217;s success. In other words, Matsumoto-san&#8217;s wishes are the &#8220;company&#8217;s wishes. &#8230;&#8230;
A person involved in the entertainment industry said, &#8220;Yoshimoto is now in the midst of a major change in its business model.
 Yoshimoto is now doing very well not only in variety shows but also in male idols such as JO1 and INI. Moreover, the company also has a video production company, and has strong ties with the government, such as being one of the core companies for the Osaka Expo to be held in 2013.
 In other words, it is no exaggeration to say that it is the most powerful production company in the entertainment industry today. If Downtown, which is at the top of that office both in name and reality, pushes for a SMAP reunion, other entertainment professionals and TV stations will have no choice but to cooperate. That is how much power is behind the scenes.
Downtown and SMAP have made their presence felt in the entertainment world, and the day when they stand together on the same stage may not be far off.

 SMAP has become a hot topic here. The members of "New Map" continue to appear on the program that Hitoshi Matsumoto is the MC. Shingo Katori will be performing with Masahiro Nakai for the first time since his independence, but behind the scenes...

The key players in the “SMAP reunion” are “Downtown” Hitoshi Matsumoto and Masanori Hamada, rather than Sanma Akashiya.

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