Some say, “It’s just like a big announcement…” A clear reason why “SMAP-ism” lives on even after the inexcusable breakup drama.

In the previous article, “[The Day a Star of the Heisei Era Was Born] The Unwritten Rules of Johnny’s, ” we discussed how SMAP paved a new path for “middle-aged idols” and rose to become one of the leading groups of the Heisei era on April 15, 1996.

The “SMAP-isms” were beaten down and…

August 13, 2016, 9 p.m.–I was contacted by several entertainment media outlets on my old Twitter page <reported in tomorrow’s sports paper! and confirmed> that SMAP was breaking up. The response was huge. ＜It’s a hoax. ＞＜If it’s a hoax, apologize! ＞The replies were harsh and flooded in.

The mass media had not yet announced the breakup, and it was at that point. I was the only one who sent out a personal tweet. I got the information by contacting people I knew in the entertainment industry.
<I am sorry that I cannot tell the truth to all SMAP fans at this time,> said one reporter, crying in frustration.

The next day, all the sports newspapers carried front-page headlines about SMAP’s breakup. I was astonished at this. The Rio Olympics were underway, and it was the day after a Japanese athlete won a gold medal. The newspaper skipped over that and put the story on the front page of all the newspapers side by side, as instructed by Johnny’s. It was as if they were under the direction of the Omoto Management during the war. It was just like a wartime announcement by the Japanese Imperial Headquarters. And not a single person was informed in advance. I was astonished at the tremendous control of information by the Johnny’s’s empire.

After that, I received many requests for interviews. My critical comments about Johnny’s appeared in the Asahi Shimbun and the New York Times. At the time, I believe that I was the only person in the major media outlets who was outspokenly critical of Johnny’s, along with the journalist Soichiro Matsutani.

＜I recently received a reply to my tweet at the time that said, “I believe that an idol culture that neglects its fans will surely perish. Yes, seven years have passed since then, and Johnny’s has disappeared. This is the curse of SMAP…the so-called “7-year killing.

SMAP is not just an idol. It is a way of life. ＜They do not have to be number one. This is not the same as the postwar period of rapid economic growth, when people aimed to be number one in terms of GNP.

Takuya Kimura is a star, but he is not a big star like Yujiro Ishihara or Hibari Misora. He is one-of-a-kind, just like the rest of us. Just like us.

The members of SMAP are the junior baby boomers born in the 70’s, the last volume zone of our country’s population. In every city in Japan, there will be friends with SMAP-like relationships.

Usually we are separated, but we are connected through social networking sites (not SMAP✕SMAP). Sometimes they come together, join forces, and shine as one of a kind. I would like to call such “SMAP-ism,” the best spirit of the Heisei era, “SMAP-ism. But it was cruelly crushed. ＜The “SMAP-ism” was defeated.

In August, when SMAP’s breakup was announced, His Majesty the Emperor conveyed his “feelings” to the people in his own voice. He expressed his intention to abdicate before his death. However, SMAP did not hold a breakup concert or even a press conference. Their voices are not heard. Is the Johnny’s’s office even more untouchable than the Imperial Family?