Okura’s Parent-Child Performance in SUPER EIGHT Reveals Why Johnny’s Family Topics Are Considered Taboo

The collaboration was realized when Okura expressed a desire for the revival of the first store

On April 21, at the “Torikizoku 40th Anniversary Collaboration Project Announcement” held in Tokyo, Tadayoshi Okura (39) from “SUPER EIGHT” (formerly known as Kanjani∞), attended alongside his father, Tatsuji Okura (65), the founder of the major izakaya chain “Torikizoku” and CEO of Eternal Hospitality Group.

Although it was already known that the two were father and son, this was the first time they appeared together in public. “Torikizoku” was founded by Tatsuji Okura, who opened its first store on May 1, 1985, in Higashi-Osaka City, and Tadayoshi was born on May 16 of the same month. The first store closed in 2008, but last year, on the occasion of its 39th anniversary, Tadayoshi expressed his wish to revive the first store on social media, leading to the realization of this collaboration.

Tadayoshi confessed, “There was one time when my father said, ‘I don’t want to become famous because of the company I belong to.’ I was concerned about that and avoided mentioning it.” He then added, “Now that the company has grown, I am proud that my father chose me for this project, and I feel deeply moved to be able to do this together. If I can be of help, I want to make the 40th anniversary a success.”

In response, Tatsuji Okura smiled and said, “It makes me happy as a parent that we can do this collaboration for the 40th anniversary, in the year my son turns 40.”

It has been revealed that Tadayoshi Okura owns 10,000 shares in “Eternal Hospitality Group,” the company that operates “Torikizoku.” As of May 1, the stock price is 2,796 yen, meaning Tadayoshi’s assets from these shares alone amount to approximately 28 million yen. While Tadayoshi is the eldest son, it is said that one of his two younger brothers will take over the family business, and in the future, he may support the family-run company as a shareholder (according to an economic magazine reporter).

Last July, Tadayoshi established a new company, “J-pop Legacy,” which is involved in talent production and content development. However, his activities as a talent will remain under STARTO ENTERTAINMENT (STARTO Inc.). On April 26, STARTO announced on its official website that it had signed a business outsourcing contract with “J-pop Legacy.” Tadayoshi had previously been involved in producing young talent from Kansai, such as the popular group “Naniwa Danshi,” but starting in May this year, he will be involved in nurturing and discovering juniors (former Johnny’s Jr.) and producing other artists as well.

“A surprising move is the ‘father-son collaboration’ that took place. During the old Johnny’s days, it was almost taboo for talent and their family members to talk about each other in public. Tadayoshi Okura avoiding talking about ‘Torikizoku’ in the past was likely due to this reason as well.

However, with this father-son collaboration now realized, it seems that STARTO talent may now be free to collaborate with their family members in public and share family-related content” (according to a sports newspaper reporter).

The reason family-related topics were considered taboo

Why was discussing family members strictly prohibited during the old Johnny’s era? Entertainment journalist Kazuhiko Futada, who has covered Johnny’s for many years, explains the reasoning:

“Founder Johnny Kitagawa himself wasn’t particularly strict about this. It was his sister, Mary Kitagawa, who set the rules. The concern was that revealing details about a talent’s family or where they came from could lead to intense fans tracking down their family members, possibly even showing up at their homes.

Moreover, there was the concern that if the family’s background became known, the press could investigate and report on negative aspects of a talent’s past before they joined the agency, potentially leading to unpleasant information being exposed. This helped prevent financial disputes or other inconvenient truths about the family from being reported.

While this was a strict rule in the old Johnny’s days, times have changed with the development of social media, and now at STARTO Entertainment, it seems the decision is left up to the individual talents.”

If family collaborations are now allowed, the family of Kimura Takuya (52) might be the most anticipated. His wife, singer Kudo Shizuka (55), daughter Cocomi (24), a flutist, and younger daughter Kōki, (22), a model and actress, make up Japan’s most famous celebrity family.

Even subtle interactions on Instagram by the Kimura family have frequently made headlines, so the potential for a family collaboration is now a hot topic.

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