“KEY TO LIT,” the Junior Unit Gaining Attention for Its “Destroy Japan” Remarks on the Anniversary of the End of the War, and Its “Controversial Past Comments”
Rival groups have mixed feelings
“KEY TO LIT,” a unit within STARTO ENTERTAINMENT’s (hereinafter “STARTO”) Junior division, is set to make its long-awaited CD debut this winter.
Last February, STARTO announced that its Junior sub-units “HiHi Jets,” “Bi Shonen,” and “7 MEN Samurai” had effectively disbanded, and that by reshuffling members from the three groups, they had formed the five-member groups “ACEes” and “KEY TO LIT,” as well as the eight-member group “B&ZAI.”Their debut came amid shock waves among Junior fans.
“Of the three groups, ‘ACEes’ was the one rumored within the industry to be ‘most likely to debut first.’The members are Yuto Nasu (24), Hikari Ukisho (24), and Ryuga Sato (23) from the former “Bi Shonen,” Ryuto Sakuma (23) from the former “HiHi Jets,” and Ryusei Fukada (24) from the former “Shonen Ninja.”
All were born in the Year of the Horse, and since 2026 is their zodiac year, they had publicly stated that they were “aiming to debut within this year.” Last April, they were the first of the three groups to embark on a concert tour, which clearly showed the high expectations placed on them by their agency,” said a sports newspaper entertainment reporter.
However, four members of “ACEes”—excluding Ukisho—have been involved in past scandals or incidents involving women. In ’23, a video leaked showing cream puffs being thrown at the wall of their dressing room. Nasu and Sato were reportedly involved, causing a stir.
“In contrast, the members of ‘KEY TO LIT’ had no notable romantic scandals, and some fans argued that ‘KEY TO LIT is the group that should make its debut.’ It seemed that tensions between fan groups were also intensifying,” (ibid.)
The veteran four-member unit “Fo~Yu~” held a concert on August 13 at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo to commemorate their 15th anniversary. When it was announced that they would make their CD debut on November 11, Junior fans were disheartened, saying , “There might not be any more groups debuting from the Juniors this year.”
However, on August 17, while members of “KEY TO LIT” were live-streaming from their music video shoot on YouTube’s “Junior CHANNEL,” the news that they would “make their CD debut this winter via Universal Music” was officially revealed, leaving the members—who had no prior knowledge—overwhelmed with emotion.
The next day, Sato of “ACEes” updated her blog on the members-only site FAMILY CLUB web. She revealed that the five members of “ACEes” had watched the livestream together, and confessed to having mixed feelings—saying things like, “I thought it was a dream” and “I couldn’t honestly bring myself to feel happy for them” —which has become a hot topic.
“Destroy Japan” on the Day the War Ended
Meanwhile, while the members of KEY TO LIT have finally achieved their long-cherished dream of making their debut, the sports newspaper reporter mentioned earlier says , “There are also causes for concern.” In recent years, Soya Igari (23) has been active on variety shows, but a single remark he made in August 2019 sparked such a major uproar that the entire group was forced to issue an apology.
“The issue stemmed from remarks made during the talk segment of a HiHi Jets solo concert (the August 15 performance) that was taking place at the time. Knowing that the August 18 performance would be livestreamed, they expressed a desire to ‘make [a certain phrase] trend on social media’ based on what they said during the show.As a candidate for a trending hashtag, Igarashi suggested, ‘Something like “Destroy Japan,”’ and when he called for it, the content was spread on Twitter (now “X”) by fans.
As a result, the hashtag ‘#DestroyJapan’ actually trended, leaving general users confused by the disturbing wording. Since the 15th—the day the remarks originated—was the anniversary of the end of the war, people who learned the context criticized it as ‘insensitive’” (ibid.).
On the 19th, the day after the performance, an apology posted under the name “HiHi Jets” appeared on a members-only website, explaining that Igari’s use of the phrase “Destroy Japan” was a metaphor meant to convey , “Let’s get the crowd hyped up to a level we’ve never seen before!” The statement expressed deep remorse, acknowledging that it was a “rash and inappropriate expression.”
With their CD debut leading to increased exposure on television and in magazines, there is no doubt they will attract even more attention. Now is the time for them to take their past mistakes to heart and exercise the utmost caution in their words and actions.