Hey! Say! JUMP Faces Uncertain Future Amid Air Gun Incident Melancholy

On March 4, Fuji Television held a briefing on its April programming lineup at the station in Daiba, Tokyo, and announced the end of four programs featuring groups affiliated with SMILE-UP. (formerly Johnny’s). One of the programs was “Itadakari High Jump” by “Hey! Say! JUMP” (“JUMP”), which aired on Saturday mornings.

The show started in July ’15 in the late-night Wednesday slot, then moved to the Saturday noon and Saturday morning broadcast slots, but recently the ratings have been stagnant, hovering around the 2% range. The result was inevitable since TBS’s information program “King’s Brunch” is strong on Saturday mornings. Nevertheless, if the program returns to the late-night slot again, we cannot expect any viewer ratings at all. Frankly, I doubt if there is any merit in airing a new program.

Speaking of JUMP, the members recently talked about a post on X by Yoshimasa Iwahashi (45), a former member of the comedy duo Plus Minus, whose contract was to be terminated by Yoshimoto Kogyo.

The timing is unknown, but at a drinking party at an apartment hosted by comedian Daisuke Miyagawa (51), Iwahashi revealed that he had been shot by actress Yoko Maki (41) and JUMP’s Yusho Nakajima (30) with an air gun and demanded an apology. At the same time, he also revealed that JUMP’s Hiroki Arioka (32) and Yuya Takagi (33) were at that drinking party.

The truth was unclear, but JUMP fans were bothered by the fact that both Maki and JUMP’s offices decided to keep quiet. After all, Iwahashi opened a YouTube channel at the end of February. In the end, Iwahashi opened a YouTube channel at the end of February and posted an apology video there. The situation was settled without any further bother.

JUMP celebrated its 17th anniversary this year, but among the current eight members, Nakajima and Yamada Ryosuke (30), who have appeared in many video productions, have been the most successful, and it has been said that there is a strong “gap” among the members. Nevertheless, Arioka and Ino no Satoshi (33) have recently risen to prominence in video productions and variety shows. ……

‘The members’ female relationships are among the best in the office in terms of being flirtatious.’ In 2004, the Weekly Post reported that Nakajima had stayed at the home of actress Yō Yoshida (age undisclosed) for “seven consecutive nights. Furthermore, the day after the “seven consecutive nights,” the Shukan Bunshun (weekly magazine) reported that he was drunk and molested a woman, which led to a police incident and tarnished his image.

In the same year, Inoo was also reported to be in a two-timing relationship with Mana Mikami, 34, a Fuji TV announcer, and Misato Ugaki, 32, then with TBS and now freelance, and to have secretly met Kirara Asuka, 35, a former popular sexy actress, at a luxury hotel overseas. It will also be remembered that last month some sports papers reported his relationship with Risa Yukihira (29), a gradol who made a name for herself as a round girl in boxing world fights.

Arioka is reportedly dating actress Mayu Matsuoka (29), and Yamada is reportedly dating actress Satoko Miyata (35), although they are now reportedly broken up. This alone is a terrible “betrayal” to their respective fans. It may be inevitable that they are being overtaken in terms of popularity and momentum by more and more junior groups.

Last October, the company changed its name in response to the sexual assault scandal involving the late Janie Kitagawa, the founder of the company. After completing a four-dome tour from December of last year to January of this year, JUMP is no longer performing on their regular TV shows or performing at the same time as the “Air Gun Incident. The “air gun incident” has also been a factor, and there are no bright spots at all. The only positive news is that the movie “Silent Love,” starring Yamada and Minami Hamabe (23) as the heroine, was a hit.

We would like to see a “catalyst” to break out of this stagnant situation.

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