<figure id="attachment_331501" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-331501" style="width: 2840px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e984a2aa"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/08/67d69b35d3c645f1f526005dbb071ad4.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-331501" class="wp-caption-text">Fuji TV has had a strong relationship with the former Johnny&#8217;s office for many years. Exclusive coverage of &#8220;Cowcon&#8221; is one such example.</figcaption></figure>
<p> The former Johnny&#8217;s office has embarked on a new chapter in its history, changing its name to &#8220;SMILE-UP. However, the future is not bright. The main reason for this is the harsh treatment of the TV stations with which they have had a close relationship for a long time. A source at a major advertising agency said, &#8220;NHK held a regular press conference in October.</p>
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<p><strong> At a regular press conference in October, NHK emphasized its stance that it would not accept any requests from the former Johnny&#8217;s office for new talent to appear at the station unless steady progress is made in efforts to help the victims and prevent a recurrence of the incident. He also stated that there has been no change in the policy of having no performers in the &#8220;Kohaku Uta Gassen&#8221; at this point in time.</strong></p>
<p><strong> TV Asahi also commented that it plans to produce and broadcast a special program to comprehensively examine the issue in light of the testimony of Yasunobu Shiga, a member of &#8220;Ninja,&#8221; that he was sexually assaulted by Mr. Janney in the station&#8217;s restroom. NTV and TBS have already announced the results of their internal investigations into the former Johnny&#8217;s, and TV Asahi, albeit belatedly, has also made a serious effort.</strong></p>
<p> Like TV Asahi, Fuji Television, which had been in a honeymoon relationship with the former Johnny&#8217;s, preceded the announcement by airing &#8220;Weekly Fuji TV Review Special Edition: Sexual Assault by the Founder of the Former Johnny&#8217;s Office and the &#8216;Silence of the Media'&#8221; on March 21, 2010. In the program, after surveying 77 current and former Fuji Television employees, News Bureau Chief Natsuko Watanabe formally apologized, saying, &#8220;Considering the seriousness of the issue of sexual assault against minors and the sensitivity to human rights issues, we, as people involved in news reporting, deeply regret our lack of sensitivity to the feelings of those who have suffered from it.</p>
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<p> After the broadcast, however, music producer Kiyoshi Matsuo (55) commented sarcastically on his X (formerly Twitter), &#8220;The employees were so concerned about preventing gibberish that all the students relayed their lines in a graduation ceremony, just like a bar reading. The station was criticized for its attitude toward both current and former employees, who appeared to be slow to take action. Fuji Television is lagging behind the other major Tokyo TV stations, and this is partly due to its special programs during the year-end and New Year holidays, which are the result of its honeymoon relationship with the former Johnny&#8217;s office.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Fuji Television being pushed around by Cowcon"></div>
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<figure id="attachment_293540" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-293540" style="width: 1280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="289cb613"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/02/e7c6e146ce4dbf13f0a5a9593ebe6a38.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-293540" class="wp-caption-text">Hirano performed at last year&#8217;s &#8220;Cowcon&#8221; which recorded high ratings. He is currently active in &#8220;TOBE.</figcaption></figure>
<p> The special program is &#8220;Johnny&#8217;s Countdown Live,&#8221; a New Year&#8217;s Eve live performance held from New Year&#8217;s Eve to New Year&#8217;s Day, featuring many of their talents. Since its inception in 1998, it has been broadcast live as a special program on Fuji Television every year except in 2002, and has been popular among fans for many years under the abbreviation &#8220;Cowcon. The show has been popular with fans for many years.</p>
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<p><strong> Last year, Marius (Leaf, 23), then a member of Sexy Zone, announced his departure from the group and retirement from show business. This was the last time the five members, including Kento Nakajima (29), would work together. Furthermore, as it was the last live performance attended by Shiyou Hirano (26), Yuta Jinguji (25), and Yuta Kishi (28) as King &amp; Prince, the average household viewership rating was a high 13.2% despite the late-night live broadcast. It has established itself as a year-end and New Year&#8217;s special program that consistently earns high viewer ratings, and for Fuji Television, which has been suffering from a slump in viewer ratings in recent years, it is a content with particularly high expectations.</strong></p>
<p> However, news of the decision to hold &#8220;Cowcon&#8221; this year has been slow to come, and not only the fans but also Fuji Television, which broadcasts the event every year, has voiced their concerns. A key station official explains the situation.</p>
<p><strong> A key station official explained the situation: &#8220;Even though it is customary to announce the event around the beginning of December each year, there are many concerns about the holding of the event due to the series of sexual assaults.</strong></p>
<p><strong> Since the production and organization of alternative programs will depend on whether or not Cowcon can be held, Fuji Television is also preparing for the case that it cannot be held. However, even though the end of the year is approaching, the attitude of not letting up is causing a lot of dissatisfaction from the talents and agencies whose schedules have been temporarily held up.</strong></p>
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<p> Normally, Fuji TV should take a firm stand and make adjustments with the former Johnny&#8217;s office. However, due to their past relationship, they are in a situation where they cannot say anything strong.</p>
<p><strong> In 1918, Yumiko Shigeoka, who was then a general producer at Fuji Television&#8217;s programming department&#8217;s programming center, was transferred to the former Johnny&#8217;s. She is now a member of the board of directors. She is now a director. It was highly unusual for a station employee to be transferred to an entertainment agency, but the main reason was that Fuji benefited from having many of its own talents appear in its own programs, while Johnny&#8217;s benefited from having many of its own talents exposed to Fuji.</strong></p>
<p><strong> It is only natural that the two companies would be so close to each other that they would not be able to cut a fine line in their own verification programs. There are circumstances that make it impossible to force the office not to let go of the special program, which should be considered a tiger&#8217;s child. However, as long as Fuji continues to make this kind of discovery to the former Johnny&#8217;s, it can&#8217;t be helped but be said that Fuji is not sincerely dealing with the series of sexual assault issues.</strong></p>
<p> Fuji Television is expected to respond to the situation without any discovery. &#8230;&#8230;</p>
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 Kazuhiko Nakamura (1st), Yusuke Kondo (2nd)

 The former Johnny's's office's year-end special program, "Countdown Concert," has yet to be held. Fuji Television, which will broadcast the live broadcast, is having a hard time dealing with Johnny's's stubborn attitude, but at the same time, there are certain circumstances that make it impossible to take a firm stand.

Fuji TV is being pushed around by the undecided holding of &#8220;Cowcon&#8221;&#8230;Fuji TV cannot be strong-armed by the &#8220;honeymoon with the former Johnny&#8217;s&#8221; backstage situation.

Fuji TV is being pushed around by the undecided holding of “Cowcon”…Fuji TV cannot be strong-armed by the “honeymoon with the former Johnny’s” backstage situation.

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