SMAP may split as boy band bolts from management feud

by Tomohiro Osaki

Staff Writer/JapanTimes

It looks like it may be splitsville for the princes of Japanese showbiz.

SMAP, one of Japan’s most successful male idol groups, appeared on the verge of disbanding Wednesday as the fantastic five’s management agency acknowledged reports that the lads are considering going their own ways.

“There have been some news reports that members of SMAP are considering flying solo. . . . Debate and negotiation are indeed underway over the matter,” Daisuke Yuki, a lawyer representing artist agency Johnny & Associates, said in a statement delivered to The Japan Times on Wednesday.

Japan woke up Wednesday to the shocking news scooped by two tabloids — Nikkan Sports and Sports Nippon — that members Masahiro Nakai, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and Shingo Katori were eying leaving Johnny & Associates after being ensnared in a feud within the agency. Takuya Kimura alone intends to stay, the papers said.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2016/01/13/entertainment-news/smap-breakup-imminent-four-look-bolt-johnny-associates-internal-feud/#.VpZ2U0_E_Mp