Naniwa Danshi’s Official Instagram Leaks Secret Meeting with Sexy Actress, Raising Concerns Over New Company’s Management

STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, the new company in charge of talent management launched by the former Johnny’s (now “SMILE-UP.”), finally began full-scale operations in April.

On the other hand, just prior to the launch of the new company, the official SNS of the group’s member companies were hit with a series of misfires and misfollowings, which became a topic of conversation among fans. Some fans commented that “the staff is not very thorough.

The first thing that surprised fans was a post on the official Instagram of Naniwa Otoko on the evening of March 26. A picture of a product called “Nagoya Ogura Toss Tangdosha,” a confectionary from Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, was uploaded to Stories.

The image reads, “Yuchan bought me a souvenir! Thank you!!!” Sorry for posting this after I got home! The picture was uploaded to Stories with the comment, “Yuchan bought me a souvenir!

The Stories were immediately deleted, leaving fans even more puzzled. The SNS was in an uproar, wondering whether one of the members had mistakenly posted the photo with his private account or whether it was a mistake by the staff …….” (Entertainment writer)

And naturally, fans’ questions focused on the name “Yuchan. One of the names that came up was former sexy actress Yua Mikami.

The September 7 issue of “Shukan Bunshun” (weekly magazine) scooped that Mikami and Naniwa Boys’ Kendo Nagao were in an intimate relationship. The magazine caught Nagao going in and out of Mikami’s apartment and called it a “sleepover love affair.

Some fans wondered if “Yuchan” in Naniwa Otoko’s Stories was a nickname taken from “Yua. A theory emerged that the missing Stories in question were supposed to be uploaded by Nagao to a “back-access account” (……). Since the members were under suspicion, the office and the Naniwa boys must have thought it was time to put out the fire.

Later, Naniwa Danshi’s official Instagram updated the Stories again. The official Instagram of Naniwa Otoko was then updated again, explaining, “At around 20:00, an erroneous Story post was sent out by an individual staff member who has nothing to do with Naniwa Otoko Instagram,” and adding, “Naniwa Otoko Instagram is produced and operated by the members, and the staff is responsible for the posting process. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We apologize from the bottom of our hearts.

The official side did not go through with it, but rather made excuses, and for the time being, the fans’ upset seems to have subsided. On March 27, Travis Japan’s official X (formerly Twitter) reposted a post by an X user claiming to be a fan of the group. However, the post was not negative in itself, but mentioned information that Travis Japan was ranked No. 2 in the music chart Billboard JAPAN rankings. This too may have been a mistake on the part of the staff, but the repost was later cancelled.

Also on April 1, an X user with over 200,000 followers reported with a screenshot that he had been “followed” by official X of Hey! Say! The account mainly transmits information related to idols, including the former Johnny’s, but it was probably just a mis-following. On the same day, Hey! Say! JUMP’s official X seems to have unfollowed the said account.

The fans have been asking for help in response to this series of troubles on social networking sites,

Naniwa Dans, it’s not safe to have staff members around who can’t even manage their Instagram properly.
The staff members misfired on the official instagram of Naniwa Boys, and also misfollowed the official X of JUMP. …… There’s too much dangerous behavior on the staff these days.
I’m scared of SNS because if I post something, someone can see it right away. I hope you manage your official accounts better.

Some people were appalled.

The official instagram of Naniwa Otoko apologized in a story, saying, “We will take measures to prevent the same thing from happening in the future, so please continue to support us and Naniwa Otoko and NaniwaGram. To avoid further loss of trust, the staff side should carefully manage the talent’s social networking service.