KEY TO LIT Under the Spotlight: The “Destroy Japan” Remark and a Controversial Past

A rival group’s complicated feelings

“KEY TO LIT,” a Junior unit under STARTO ENTERTAINMENT (hereinafter, STARTO), is finally set to make its long-awaited CD debut this winter.

In February last year, it was announced that three STARTO Junior units—“HiHi Jets,” “Bishonen,” and “7 MEN Samurai”—had effectively disbanded, and that their members would be reshuffled to form the five-member “ACEes” and “KEY TO LIT,” as well as the eight-member “B&ZAI.” The announcement sent shockwaves through Junior fans, and now one of those newly formed groups is making its debut.

“Of the three groups, ‘ACEes’ was the one rumored within the industry to be the closest to making their debut. Its members were former ‘Bishonen’ members Yuto Nasu (24), Hidaka Ukisho (24), and Ryuga Sato (23), along with former ‘HiHi Jets’ member Ryuto Sakuma (23) and former ‘Shonen Ninja’ member Ryusei Fukada (24).

All five were born in the Year of the Horse, making 2026 their zodiac year, and they had publicly stated that their goal was to debut within the year. In April last year, they were also the first of the three groups to embark on a concert tour. This suggested that the agency had high expectations for them.” — entertainment reporter for a sports newspaper

However, four of the five members of “ACEes,” excluding Ukisho, have been involved in past scandals or misconduct involving women. In 2023, a video surfaced showing cream puffs being thrown at a dressing-room wall. Nasu and Sato were reportedly involved, sparking controversy.

“By contrast, the members of ‘KEY TO LIT’ had no major scandals involving women, and some fans were arguing that ‘KEY TO LIT is the group that should be making their debut.’ It seemed that tensions between the respective fan groups were also growing.” — same source

On August 13, the veteran four-member unit “foryou” held its 15th-anniversary concert at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. When it was announced that they would make their CD debut on November 11, Junior fans were disappointed, saying, “Maybe there won’t be another Junior group debuting this year.”

However, on August 17, while the members of “KEY TO LIT” were livestreaming from the set of a music video shoot on YouTube’s “Junior CHANNEL,” the information was suddenly unveiled that they would make their CD debut with Universal Music this winter. The members, who had known nothing about it beforehand, were visibly overwhelmed with emotion.

The following day, “ACEes” member Ryuga Sato updated his blog on the members-only FAMILY CLUB web. He revealed that all five members of “ACEes” had been watching the livestream together and opened up about his complicated feelings, writing things such as “I wondered if it was a dream” and “I couldn’t honestly bring myself to feel happy for them at first.” His comments have since become a topic of discussion.

“Destroy Japan” on the anniversary of the end of the war

Meanwhile, although the members of KEY TO LIT have finally achieved their long-awaited debut, the aforementioned sports newspaper reporter says, “There are also some concerns.” In recent years, Soya Igari (23) has been active on variety shows as well, but a remark he made in August 2019 sparked such a major controversy that the entire group eventually issued an apology.

“The issue arose during a talk segment at a HiHi Jets solo concert held at the time (the August 15 performance). Because the August 18 performance was going to be livestreamed, the members said during the show that they wanted their comments from the performance to trend on social media. As one possible phrase they could aim to get trending, Igari suggested, ‘How about “Destroy Japan”?’ and called on fans to make it trend. Fans then spread the remark on Twitter (now X).

As a result, the hashtag ‘#DestroyJapan’ actually began trending. Ordinary users who saw the ominous phrase were confused. Since the remark had been made on August 15—the anniversary of the end of World War II in Japan—people who learned the context criticized it as ‘inappropriate and disrespectful.’” — same source

The day after the concert, on August 19, an apology was posted on the members-only website under the name “HiHi Jets.” It explained that Igari’s phrase “Destroy Japan” had been intended as a metaphor meaning “Let’s get more excited than ever before!” The statement expressed deep remorse, acknowledging that it had been a “careless and inappropriate expression.”

With their CD debut likely to bring them greater exposure on television, in magazines, and elsewhere, there is no doubt that they will attract even more attention. Now more than ever, they should keep their past mistake in mind and exercise the utmost care in what they say and do.