Junior Reorganization Sparks Fan Outrage—The Hidden Agenda Behind the New Theater Project

The suddenly announced restructuring

STARTO ENTERTAINMENT (hereinafter referred to as STARTO) announced on the 16th that it would disband the three Junior (formerly Johnny’s Jr.) groups, HiHi Jets, Bi Shonen, and 7 MEN Samurai. In a major restructuring, members of these three groups, along with members of Shonen Ninja, were shuffled to form three new groups.

The newly formed groups are ACEes, KEY TO LIT, and B&ZAI.

The members of each group are as follows:

ACEes: A five-member group consisting of Bi Shonen’s Hidaka Ukisho (22), Yuto Nasu (23), Ryuga Sato (22), HiHi Jets’s Ryuto Sakuma (22), and Shonen Ninja’s Ryusei Fukada (22).

KEY TO LIT: Another five-member group featuring Bi Shonen’s Taisho Iwasaki (22), HiHi Jets’s Mizuki Inoue (24) and Soya Igari (22), as well as 7 MEN Samurai’s Reia Nakamura (27) and Taiko Sasaki (22).

B&ZAI: The largest of the three groups, with eight members: HiHi Jets’s Ryo Hashimoto (24), 7 MEN Samurai’s Rei Yabana (24), Taiki Konno (25), Rinne Sugata (26), Katsuki Motodaka (26), and Shonen Ninja’s Ibuki Kawasaki (19), Michiharu Inaba (19), and Yuji Suzuki (20).

Among the three, ACEes is already scheduled to embark on an arena tour starting April 10 at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena, covering five cities. The other two groups also plan to hold concerts starting in June.

“For fans who had been supporting each group with hopes of their CD debut, this restructuring has been completely unbelievable. Even though they were all part of the Juniors, suddenly having to work together with members from rival groups must be unsettling.

Additionally, Bi Shonen’s Naoki Fujii (24) was left out of all three groups and will now have to pursue a solo career, which has been a shock to fans. Shonen Ninja also lost several of its key young members, who were effectively ‘poached’ for this reorganization.

Looking at the lineup, it’s clear that ACEes is being favored. Many suspect that the group name was deliberately chosen as a play on ‘Ace’ to establish it as the leading group,” said an entertainment journalist.

In response to this restructuring, criticism has flooded the internet: “I don’t think many fans can accept this.” “‘Kiteretsu’ and ‘Banzai’ don’t sound stylish or cool at all.” “I have nothing but distrust. Were the members really okay with this?” Although it never materialized, there were even extreme fans who attempted to incite a protest in front of STARTO’s headquarters, demanding an explanation for the restructuring.

What about Fan First?

Even looking back at the former Johnny’s era, disbanding three groups for a full-scale restructuring is an unprecedented move. However, this reorganization was reportedly carried out with future activities in mind.

“In 2026, TV Asahi is set to open a multi-purpose facility called Tokyo Dream Park in Ariake, Tokyo. In September 2023, Shukan Bunshun reported that a theater within this facility would essentially become a dedicated theater for STARTO’s Juniors. This project is still ongoing, and to facilitate its promotional efforts, the groups have been reorganized into three so that performance rotations can be easily managed. Moving forward, the three groups will be strategically pitted against each other to generate excitement leading up to the theater’s opening,” said a music industry insider.

STARTO explained its reasoning for the Junior reorganization as a restructuring based on years of experience, aimed at taking on new challenges, realizing new possibilities, and creating further growth opportunities. However, many question whether this announcement aligns with the company’s originally stated direction.

“STARTO’s CEO Jun Fukuda (59) stated during a press briefing upon taking office in December 2023, ‘In addition to the existing fan club services, we will give back to fans more and push forward with new initiatives. Please look forward to what’s to come.’ He strongly emphasized a fan-first approach that went beyond what was seen in the former Johnny’s era.

However, as soon as the Junior groups were perceived as struggling to gain momentum, they were abruptly disbanded and reorganized. This shuffle seems to be heading for a difficult road ahead,” said the same entertainment journalist.

Rather than being excited about the new challenges and possibilities of the newly formed groups, fans of the disbanded groups are likely to carry a lingering sense of loss for the time being.

 

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