JUMP Leads Countdown Concert as Fuji’s Attempt Favors Snow Man

The “Kohaku Countdown” will not be held this year either.

Fans had high expectations for the return of the event after two years.

It has been revealed that the New Year’s Eve live event “Johnny’s Countdown Live (Kohaku Countdown, or Kōkon),” featuring all the talents previously under Johnny’s agency, will not be held this year either. On November 30, STARTO Corporation announced that they would not hold the Kōkon, but instead, Hey! Say! JUMP will hold a solo countdown concert at Tokyo Dome.

“Kōkon was a yearly event broadcast by Fuji TV, and despite the late-night time slot, it consistently achieved high viewer ratings. However, last year, due to the turmoil surrounding the sexual abuse allegations against the late Johnny Kitagawa, the founder of the former Johnny’s, and the subsequent rebranding of the company, it became difficult to hold the event.

There were hopes that Kōkon would make a comeback this year, but before it was confirmed that the event would not take place, Fuji announced that it would broadcast ‘Tōsō-chū ~New Year’s Eve Special Odaiba Showdown!’ from 8:52 PM on December 31 to 12:30 AM the following day. It seems Fuji did not actively negotiate with STARTO about the possibility of broadcasting Kōkon” (TV station source).

For groups other than JUMP under STARTO, Snow Man will be live streaming their “Snow Man Special Live Enjoying New Year’s Eve with Everyone! 2024-2025” on YouTube on the 31st. This live broadcast, which was also held last year, set a new Japanese record with a peak concurrent viewership of 1,333,063. Many fans are actually more excited about the YouTube live stream than the potential Kōkon event.

However, there remains some doubt as to why Fuji chose to air Tōsō-chū, which didn’t achieve particularly strong numbers last year. When reflecting on this year, it becomes clear that Fuji has been especially focused on promoting the individual activities of the Snow Man members.