Junnosuke Taguchi Produces a Men’s Show Club, Guiding the Next Generation of Stars

“I really love working in entertainment the most. Performing in front of an audience and enjoying the live experience is definitely what I like the most.”

Speaking this way with a broad smile is Junnosuke Taguchi, a former member of KAT-TUN. 

After leaving Johnny’s Entertainment in the spring of 2016, he became a professional player in the Japan Professional Mahjong Association after passing their protest in 2022, and he has also been active as a poker player. In 2024, he made headlines for producing the handsome cafe “Junnosuke’s Table” in Shibuya, which gave the impression that he was more in the news for activities outside of entertainment.

Now, he has garnered attention for a men’s show club he has created from scratch, auditioning and training members.

The show club “A-MEN’S TOKYO” opened in August this year in the heart of Kabukicho, Shinjuku, Tokyo. While teaching the male cast various dance routines, Taguchi himself also performs as a performer.

“Starting from the new year, I called for applications, and we began auditions in April. Some of the members are already active as men’s idols in units, while others are professional dancers. Conversely, we also had complete beginners and regular students come in.”

Taguchi, who joined Johnny & Associates in 1999 and underwent rigorous training to debut as a member of KAT-TUN, has now taken on the role of teaching others the path he himself traveled. He recalls an interaction with Johnny Kitagawa.

“One time during an audition, Johnny asked me, ‘If it were you, who would you choose?’ So, I picked out a few kids who were good dancers and looked cool. But Johnny said, ‘You don’t understand anything,’ and not a single one of my picks matched his. The people he chose were more down-to-earth and didn’t stand out much. Some of them might have been from Hey! Say! JUMP or Snow Man. At that moment, I thought I might not have the talent to spot stars.”

Despite this, it seems that what Taguchi learned at Johnny’s has solidly become his foundation.

You can read the full interview, where he discusses the difficulties of producing a group and the things he learned at Johnny’s, along with glamorous show photos, in the paid version of “FRIDAY subscription”.