Clothing-averse pop star Tsuyoshi Kusanagi might be back on the celebrity circuit again, but his lightning-fast rehabilitation hasn’t come without the odd hitch. Weekly magazine Shunkan Bunshun reported in its June 11 edition on a feud between NHK and Johnny’s, the imperious talent agency behind Kusanagi’s supergroup, SMAP.
In an article rich in sensationalism and low on specifics, the magazine claimed that NHK had incurred the wrath of Johnny’s after it defied a request from the agency not to transmit a live broadcast of the press conference held with Kusanagi after his arrest.
As a result, it seems that the broadcaster wasn’t even invited to the soft-focus conference held with Kusanagi on May 28, prior to his TV comeback.
Does this mean that SMAP won’t be appearing on NHK’s end-of-year extravaganza, "Kohaku Uta Gassen?" Your guess is as good as ours. (Metropolis)
© Japan Today
19 Comments
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Mark_McCracken
What is a soft-focus conference? Google shows zero results for "soft-focus conference".
fatfrenchfool
kuchikomi section said this? hahaha
gogogo
Shesh now theres something no one should care about NHK & Johnny's.
TheguyNextdoor
who cares!
timorborder
Mr "What's Wrong With Being Nude" got a pretty rough deal from the media in general, and NHK was not shy about putting in the boot. I hope that this situation festers for a while in order to teach all sides a lesson.
namabiru4me
2010 will come with or without their cooperation.
I usually watch K-1 (or whatever fight they will put on this year) anyway.
Richard_III
If you'd seen it you'd know, and would either have psychological and emotional scaring; or have decided to leave Japan.
harmoneeikaiwa
More Japlish.Even the gaijin making it up now.
ButaMassu
Hope Johnny will forgive him for the sake of SMAP and Johnny's JR
tkoind2
I dispise both Johnny's for their factory produced generic crap they try to pass off as talent (with a few rare acting exceptions) and NHK for their corruption and insistent demands for money so they can broadcast news that would make you think Japan was the only inhabited country on earth.
Maybe we can get them to erradicate each other. Then some talent agency with real talent and less fondness of young boys could take Johnny's place. And maybe NHK's documentary makers could start up a better channel and carry on the only good work that TV channel offers.
Mutual assured destruction guys. Fight it out to the end.
BurakuminDes
Johnny is a disgusting,old and immoral ex-American military GRUNT. I shudder to imagine what the pervert has got up to behind the scenes on the casting couches.....
EUgirl
I think NHK is pretty decent as compared to the commercial channels. Sometimes they are a bit preacherly (the other night at the 10-min before midnight teach-in some specialist talked about why in Mexico 100 people have died of swine flu, kind of making the assumption that in Japan no worry, as there is national health and better knowledge...he forgot to mention the 90-something U.S.deaths..).
I guess soft focus conference is the kind is arranged with the release of Japanese movies: nobody asks questions about the meaning of the film, filmmaking choices or anything relevant, it is just goody-feel and the actors going one after another "It was an honor to work with director X and my co-stars. Please all enjoy the movie."
tkoind2
NHK is a typical nationalized TV channel. Propaganda and controlled news reporting. The only good points are some of the non-scripted documentaries. But for the most part this channel is a voice of the state and very little more.
When compared to other channels, well... rotten is rotten isn't it? Quality TV is in rare presence here. Period.
Ianinnihon
The sooner SMAP evaporates the better. Too bad Vulcan Boy's society-shaking fall from grace didn't do it.
EUgirl
Non-scripted documentaries? What are those? I did film studies at uni, and never heard of such.
Loki520
OH come on people. Why such hate for the same group that put out smapxsmap, some fantastic nightly shows and the actors in Mr. Brain and quite a few other outstanding social commentaries...
Try typing that with a straight face. IMPOSSIBLE.
bdiego
"kuchikomi section said this? hahaha"
First thought in my mind too. Well, the media gets what it deserves.
ratpack
Oh please....who cares!!!!!!
RandomTask
Eh.. good?
The sooner that 'talent' agency implodes the better.