Ryosuke Yamada’s Surging Reputation After Kento Nakajima’s JUMP Graduation

On January 8th, Kento Nakajima of “Sexy Zone” announced that he would be graduating from the group on March 31st. Nakajima is affiliated with SMILE-UP. (formerly Johnny’s office) and will continue his activities as an individual talent and actor. The group, consisting of Fuma Kikuchi, Shori Sato, and So Matsushima, will continue with the new group name starting in April. While Nakajima’s decision has received mixed reactions, there has been praise from senior idols in the same agency.

 Sexy Zone made their CD debut on November 16, 2011. The impactful group name and Kenjiro Nakajima’s catchphrase “Sexy Thank You” gradually became well-known, even reaching households. Despite having carried this name for a long time, they announced a decision to change the group name on October 5th of the previous year.

The timing coincided with a period of transformation for the agency, prompted by the founder Johnny Kitagawa’s sexual misconduct allegations, leading to changes such as the company name. Nakajima addressed the potential name change on his Instagram, stating, “We are discussing changing the name Sexy Zone. As announced earlier, we are having this discussion considering the direction of my group and the future of the members. Well, you know, even abroad, people are surprised. Sexy Zone, you know.”

“Nakajima has been selected for the Hulu original drama ‘Concordia’ (tentative title), scheduled for worldwide simultaneous broadcast and streaming this year. As of the information release in November 2022, he had already started filming, participating as one of the main cast members. It was reported that he would achieve his ‘overseas drama debut’ in a full English-language drama.

Having his regular program ‘Kento Nakajima’s Now, I Want to Know About Movies.’ on WOWOW, he also conducts interviews in English due to his involvement in film-related work. The group’s name change is believed to be a decision made with difficulty, taking into account Nakajima’s activities overseas.” (Entertainment Writer)

However, it has now been revealed that Nakajima is graduating. The day after the announcement, during a live appearance on the morning show ‘Mezamashi TV’ (Fuji TV), he stated, “I will continue to be sexy, and I will not graduate from being an idol.” despite this affirmation,

“Even though he’s not graduating as an idol, the group is graduating. Group activities can be adjusted in various ways. It’s a significant blow that Kento is leaving.”
“If he stays in the group, won’t Kento be unable to do what he wants to do?”
“Even though they belong to the same agency, I don’t understand the reason for leaving the group. Why is Sexy Zone changing the group name? I can’t comprehend it.”

And thus, voices of doubt and questioning continue to pour in.