Backlash Erupts as Former Kanjani∞ Member Tadayoshi Okura’s Junior-Produced Project Sparks Shock Among Fans

In addition to his own idol activities, Tadayoshi Okura of SUPER EIGHT (formerly Kanjani∞) has been involved in producing projects for junior members of his agency in recent years. A new project led by Okura started recently, and as part of it, a video featuring two junior members was uploaded to YouTube. However, there was a major backlash initially as Okura attempted to reuse an existing channel, causing significant controversy right at the start of his project.

 

On March 2nd, at the Tokyo National Yoyogi Stadium’s First Gymnasium, in the fashion event “38th My Navi Tokyo Girls Collection 2024 SPRING/SUMMER,” junior unit members Shota Oriyama from Shonen Ninja and Taiyo Haku from Kansai Juniors made an appearance. This was reported as the first installment of Okura’s project aimed at “communicating idol × creativity for a new era,” with the two juniors from the east and west collaborating on stage.

 

Then, by the 3rd of March, teaser videos featuring Oriyama and Haku were uploaded to the YouTube channel “+81 DANCE STUDIO,” and the channel’s description was changed to “81 STUDIO evolves! A stage produced by Tadayoshi Okura!!” (verbatim, following the original text). Interestingly, “+81 DANCE STUDIO” originally belonged to Travis Japan, so the channel’s transformation sparked outrage among their fans.

 

“‘ +81 DANCE STUDIO’ was established in August 2021 as Travis Japan’s individual channel when they were still juniors. The concept was to showcase new choreography by Travis Japan, known for their high dance skills, set to classic songs from past Johnny’s groups.

 

However, Travis Japan went to study in Los Angeles, USA, in late March 2022. Consequently, regular updates stopped, and in September of the same year, the ‘2nd Season’ started. Groups like HiHi Jets and Bi Shonen inherited Travis Japan’s intentions and continued to dance across group boundaries,” according to an entertainment writer.

 

After their studies, Travis Japan debuted in October 2022, officially graduating from being juniors. “+81 DANCE STUDIO” had been in hiatus since the video released on April 3rd the previous year. Now, the channel’s transformation into “+81 STUDIO,” delivering Okura’s production stage, has been revealed.