“Ae Group” Fans Disappointed by the Alleged Compliance Violation of Member Daiharu Fukumoto

The former Johnny’s office changed its form drastically last year due to the sex-abuse scandal involving the late Mr. Kitagawa Johnny. The former Johnny’s Office was largely divided into two companies: “SMILE-UP.”, which provides compensation for sexual assault victims, and “STARTO ENTERTAINMENT”, which provides agency and management services for talents.

 

In the latter, Jun Fukuda of the consulting company “Speedy” was appointed as the new president. In 2024, the company will make a fresh start as the company name suggests, but a tumultuous start is already expected.

“The former Johnny’s talents, who are already well-known, will be affected by the sexual assault issue, but their work is not expected to decrease significantly. The test will be whether or not they will be able to debut a new group.”

“What will Mr. Fukuda do with a group whose debut has been postponed because of the sexual assault issue? Fukuda’s skill will be tested.”

In the midst of all this, the “Ae! Group”, which was preparing to make its debut, was hit by a severe earthquake at the end of last year.

One of its popular members, Daiharu Fukumoto, had his contract terminated due to suspected compliance violations. The details of his termination are as follows.

“The details of the incident will not be disclosed, out of respect for the privacy and wishes of the parties concerned.”

The Internet was abuzz with speculation. 

 

The office announced, “We are told that the company has done something that could be considered a violation of the law, in other words, that it has failed to comply with the law.” The fact that the office’s announcement uses the plural form “the people concerned,” it can be inferred that there was trouble involving a third party, and not Fukumoto alone.

Ae! Group’s debut became even more uncertain due to the Fukumoto shock.