Johnny & Associates Inc held a fundraiser from April 1 to 3 for survivors of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. The collection point in front of Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Shibuya was visited by over 10,000 fans per day for the duration of the event, at which Tokio, Arashi, Kat-tun, SMAP and others worked together to collect money for the stricken region.
SMAP member Takuya Kimura told assembled fans, "For the past three days, so many of you have visited here to donate and I want to say a sincere thank you to each and every one of you."
His sentiments were echoed by bandmate Shingo Katori who said, "I think what you all did today is going to be remembered and felt by a lot of people."
Tsuyoshi Kusanagi then clowned for a while to get the crowd worked up before the band launched into acapella versions of their hit songs "The One and Only Flower in the World" and "Beyond the Night Sky."
The attendees numbered around 101,000 on the first day of the event, 127,000 on the second and 161,000 on the third and final day. In all, it is estimated that around 389,000 people donated money to the recovery effort.
© Compiled from news reports
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asianTourist
The number of people gathering in 3 days was the record. Johny & Associates Inc has many big stars like Tokio, Arashi, Kat-tun, and SMAP who could sign autographs for fans. SMAP's song - "the one and only flower in the world" - has won many Japanese and Asian fans during the last two decades. It was a right decision for them to choose Shibuya venue for the event. More than 389,000 people have stood by Japan.
tokyotom
good effort by all, expect more similar events
peaceforworld
WONDERFUL!!!! SO kind of Johnny's and Associates, and the artists! I am friends with Johnny san and he is a warm and caring human being!
WordStar
I would have paid if Johnny Kitagawa himself had been present. He's about as elusive as Elvis and Bigfoot.
nath
Way to go! This is awesome.
TumbleDry
I really don't like what Johnny's is producing but kudos to them for this event.
HermioneGranger
Finally Johnny's did something useful!
tokyokawasaki
Anyone know how much money was raised (after admin costs)?
If 389,000 attended and they all donated say 1000 JPY on average, that would be around 389 million Yen (about 4.5 million dollars).
warinsinee
I love KAT-TUN
haruka
Very cool.
ogtob
I saw this on the news. It looked like all of the people attending were female. Unfortunately they did not seem to be donating a lot, they had the camera on the box and while there were JPY 1000 notes being dropped there were also a lot just dropping 100 or 10 yen coins.
warinsinee
I wanna go there but I'm not staying at Japan..... wanna see all of artist who I love.....although I'm at Thailand . I dominates some of my money also..this is the only one thing I can do for Japan...
BurakuminDes
Well done to the ex-U.S. G.I., Johnny. I dislike every artist he manages/owns - but they are all doing their bit to help out (especially S.M.A.P), so respect.
billyshears
I think with all the money kitagawa has bled from japan's entertainment industry over the last 40 odd years, he should have topped this off with one of those "mega donations" that have become popular over the last few weeks from the similarly financially well-endowed.
whatthe
@billyshears
Argeed!
realist
This is the kind of thing that makes me love Japan and its wonderful people. I admire Johnny`s Kimsho and love SMAP in particular.
Wolfpack
That's an impressive turnout - it's good to see celebs doing something positive and not always focusing on themselves. Every yen will count for those in need.
dirisaya
Way to go! I wish I had been there.